Cameroon gather pace with five-set thriller win over Algeria
Elsewhere Egypt rebounded after losing their opening match to Tunisia with a straight sets win (25-21, 25-18, 25-17) against Ghana.
Cameroon top the round robin tournament after the second day with a win-loss ratio of 2-0 while Egypt improved their record to 1-1 to sit second.
Tunisia (1-0) are third, while Ghana (0-2) are fourth ahead of Algeria 0-1 who prop up the table.
The competition sees five teams competing for a slot to the London 2012 Olympic Games with the winner determined on January 21.
Cameroon v Algeria 3-2 (26-24, 19-25, 25-22, 25-27, 20-18)
Cameroon’s Jean Ndaki played a central role in his team’s victory over a struggling Algeria in a record of 147 minute match full of thrills.
The Japan-based star impressed the 2,600 audience with his sharp spikes and fantastic performance scoring 26 points to lead Cameroon while Youcef Zerrouki led the match scorers with 29.
Egypt v Ghana 3-0 (25-21, 25-8, 25-17)
Reigning African champions Egypt bounced back from a first-day loss to Tunisia with a straight-sets (25-21, 25-8, 25-17) win over Ghana in 63 minutes but the performance was far from convincing.
Egypt coach Sherif El Shemerly intended to rest some of his key players, most notably Ahmed Salah Abdelhay.
The middle blocker Mohamed Ketat was Egypt’s best scorer with just nine points, while Jordan Agbavenue led Ghana also with nine.
The third day of action will see Egypt and Algeria face off in another North African derby.
Tunisia take on Ghana seeking their second victory in row.
Match Schedule and results
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 :
– 1600 h : TUN v EGY 3-1 (25-23, 16-25, 29-27, 25-23)
– 1800 h : CMR v GHA 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-12)
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012:
– 1600 h : GHA v EGY 0-3 (21-25, 8-25, 17-25)
– 1800 h : ALG v CMR 2-3 (24-26, 25-19, 22-25, 27-25, 18-20)
Thursday, January 19th, 2012:
– 1600 h : EGY v ALG
– 1800 h : TUN v GHA
Friday, January 20th, 2012 :
– 1600 h : ALG v TUN
– 1800 h : CMR v EGY
Saturday, January 21st, 2012 :
– 1400 h : GHA v ALG
– 1800 h : TUN v CMR
Results
No Date Teams Set Result per set (points) Total Points Time Audience
1 2 3 4 5
1 17-Jan CMR-GHA 3-0 25-18 25-16 25-12 75-46 1:10 3,500
2 17-Jan EGY-TUN 1-3 23-25 25-16 27-29 23-25 98-95 1:51 2,000
3 18-Jan GHA-EGY 0-3 21-25 8-25 17-25 46-75 1:03 1,000
4 18-Jan ALG-CMR 2-3 24-26 25-19 22-25 27-25 18-20 116-115 2:27 2,600
