CameroonOnline.ORG | Eight years of waiting. Eight years of frustration. On Tuesday night in Luanda, Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions finally roared again, grinding out a 77-68 win over DR Congo to punch their ticket back to the AfroBasket quarter-finals.
It was not pretty. It was not easy. But it was classic Cameroon — all heart, grit, and bite.
Yves Missi was the star of the night, powering his team with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Williams Narace added 18, while Samir Gbetkom poured in 16. Every bucket mattered, especially with key players Jordan Bayehe and Jeremiah Hill sidelined by injuries.
The turning point? A furious third-quarter run that showed exactly why they are called the Indomitable Lions. Missi buried a baseline three, grabbed a free throw, and threw in a few more points to spark a 13-0 surge. Captain Fabien Ateba drained a dagger three, Tamenang Choh chipped in, and suddenly DR Congo were left chasing shadows.
The Congolese tried to claw their way back. Sixteen-year-old sensation Miverdi Miteo dropped 14 points, Jonathan Jordan added 13, and Djack Kabuya nailed a late three. But it was too little, too late.
Cameroon owned the paint with 40 points inside and kept hustling for nine second-chance buckets — the kind of stats that win knockout games.
When the dust settled, DR Congo coach Michel Perrin admitted his side had been rattled: “We didn’t expect the kind of pressure they put on us.”
Missi, meanwhile, spoke like a man who knows this is just the beginning: “Tonight we came with a different mindset. We gave everything on the court. We left it all out there.”
And now, after years in the wilderness, Cameroon is back where it belongs — among the last eight. Egypt awaits, but one thing is clear: these Lions still have plenty of roar left.
