The four semifinalists in the FIBA Africa Championship in Madagascar have been determined.
Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Tunisia and defending champion Angola prevailed over their respective rivals to move closer to claiming a ticket to next year's London Olympics.
The Nigerians extended their winning streak to five games as they survived the Central African Republic 94-86.
The Tigers led by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter but CAF rallied and even took a one-point lead with less than five minutes remaining in the game. But the Nigerians regained their composure and built a comfortable lead, leaving CAF trailing the rest of the way.
Derrick Obasohan topscored for Nigeria with 24 points and had three rebounds and three assists. NBA veteran Ime Udoka had another all-around game of 20 points eight assists, seven rebounds and five steals while guard Michael Umeh added 19 points.
James Mays, who played for US NCAA Division I Clemson University, led CAF with 21 points and five rebounds.
Nigeria has never won the FIBA-Africa tournament, finishing runner-up in 1997, 1999 and 2003 and third in 1995 and 2005.
They will next face six-time defending champion Angola, who scraped past Cameroon 84-83 in overtime. The Angolans seemed to be on the verge of elimination when Cameroon still had a lead with 20 seconds remaining in regulation. But the powerhouse squad tied the scores and bounced back in overtime to reach the Final Four of the biennial tournament for the 14th-straight time.
Carlos Morais fired 23 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Angolans to victory. Armando Costa added 19 points and seven rebounds while Eduardo Mingas chipped in 14 points and six rebounds.
Chritian Bayang led Cameroon with 28 points. It was a painful defeat for the Lions, who were previously undefeated in the tournament.
Côte d'Ivoire, meanwhile, dumped erstwhile unbeaten Senegal 75-59. The Ivorians had a slow start and trailed 11-22 after the first quarter. But the tempo of the game changed when the Elephants outscored Senegal 21-6 in the second period and led for the remainder of the game.
Mamadi Melameka Diane led the Ivorians with 17 points and four rebounds. Guy Edi added 12 points while Jonathan Kale had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the 2009 FIBA-Africa runner-up.
Mouhammad Faye was the top performer for Senegal with 21 points and seven rebounds. It was a disappointing finish for the Lions, who stunned six-time defending champion Angola in the group stage.
Awaiting the Ivorians in the semifinals is unbeaten Tunisia, which blasted fellow North African side Morocco 86-67.
Tunisia, which finished third in the tournament two years ago in Libya, built a 17-11 first-quarter lead and dictated the tempo until the final buzzer.
Amine Rzig led the way with 16 points and four rebounds while Radhouane Slimane added 14 points and eight boards. Mustapha Khalfi paced the Moroccans with 12 points.
