The Ankoay of Madagascar lost their match counting for the classification of the 9th to the 16th place yesterday in Debrecen.
Madagascar’s young Ankoay Boys U19s, beaten by France in the Round of 16, have started their ninth-to-sixteenth place World Cup ladder match currently being played in Debrecen, Hungary. They lost with the score of 60 to 72 (17-19, 16-16, 11-20, 16-17). As with each of their entry into competition during this 2023 World Cup, the third quarter has always been difficult for Malagasy players. The South Koreans built their victory on their shooting agility by 3 points on a total of 8 shots by Yun ki-Chan (5) and Lee yu Jin (3) against only 2 shots for the Ankoay by M’Madi Mathias and Jerry Pepin Rabibisoa. With the South Koreans’ 3-point shooting skill, M’Madi Mathias’ band was trailing 7-15 with 4’30” from the end of the first quarter. On a reaction led by Lova and Donovan, supported by Mathias, the young Ankoay gradually returned to the match and the two teams parted ways with a score of 17-19 in favor of the South Koreans. In the second quarter time after two minutes of play, Lova and Donovan brought four new points for Madagascar, 24 everywhere. Seeing the Ankoay come back to the score, Seebum Lee, the coach of South Korea, asked for his first time out. Madagascar by Jerry scored his 3-point shot to lead for the first time, with a score of 27-24, even going up to 31-26 at 4’26 from the break. Victims of a slump, the Koreans managed to come back to 33 everywhere to finish the second quarter at 33-35.
Drop in speed
The third quarter time was fatal for the Malagasy players. Little by little, the South Koreans managed to widen the gap and Madagascar was led by 44-55. With 7 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Lova and Donovan brought Madagascar back to 54-60. Due to a slowdown of the Malagasy players, the South Koreans continued to widen the gap to finish the job at 60-72, synonymous with a fourth defeat for the Malagasy clan. On the phases of the game, Aimé Randria’s protégés have the level to compete with the South Koreans whose size is almost equal to that of the Malagasy. Their advantage lies in their ability to score more than 75% of their attack, punctuated by the loss of the ball from the Malagasy players. Madagascar will still have one last game before leaving this global adventure for good. “The Ankoay U19s showed equal and sometimes superior play to the South Koreans, especially in defense. The weak points of the Malagasy lie in the losses of the ball which were too easy and the proteges of coach Mémé did not ensure with each shot. Nevertheless, it is already a great experience to compete with other basketball countries. The status of little thumb did not handicap us. The players have a future ahead of them provided they continue in the search for perseverance,” says Haja Nasolonotiavina, Ankoay U19 supporter.