Derbies light up African continent
The 61st installment of The Casablanca Derby saw rivals Wydad and Raja share the spoils in a 2-2 in a Botola Pro matchday 25 game played in Marrakech. With the result, Wydad consolidates their lead at the top of the Moroccan league first division with 53 points, while Raja remain second with 44 points with a game in hand.
Elsewhere at the Stade de Martyrs in Kinshasa, the Classico between AS Vita and TP Mazembe ended in a goalless draw. Vita who are coached by DR Congo national team manager Florent Ibenge had a glorious chance to win the game but midfielder Fabrice Ngoma blasted his 99th minute penalty over the bar. The result means that Vita stay top with 68 points with two matches to go. TP Mazembe remain in second place five points behind but with three games in hand.
South Africa and Kenya top tables as Africa U18 & U20 Championships end
Kenya topped the U20 medals table with 28 medals, 13 of which were gold, while South Africa led the way in the U18 category with 32 medals, 18 of them gold as the 2019 CAA Africa U18 and U20 Athletics Championships were concluded in Abidjan.
African quartet qualify for 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup
The semifinalists of the 2019 CAF U17 Africa Cup of Nations in Tanzania emerged over the weekend after the conclusion of group matches. In Group A, Nigeria came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Uganda while Angola thrashed hosts Tanzania 4-2.
In Group B Cameroon and Senegal played out a goalless draw while Guinea edged Morocco 1 nil. Nigeria topped Group A and will play Group B runners up Guinea in the semi final while Group B winners Cameroon will lock horns with Group A runners up Angola in the other semi final.
Nigeria’s Oduduru runs world leading time in men’s 100 metres
Nigerian sprinter Divine Oduduru made history on Sunday when he won the men’s 100m race at the 2019 Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco, Texas. Running for Texas Tech University, Oduduru ran a personal best of 9.94s which is the fastest time in the world so far this year. The feat made him the first Nigerian to run under 10secs in more than a decade. He beat his teammate, Andrew Hudson who ran 10.13s and Baylor’s Maxwell Willis in 10.21s
Not done yet, he has also obliterated Francis Obikwelu’s national 200m record of 19.84s set in 1999, with a new world leading time of 19.76s. The feat was made more astonishing due to the fact that Oduduru ran both races less than an hour apart.
Cameroonian duo in the mix as NBA playoffs heat up
Joel Embiid had 31 points and 16 rebounds, and passed to Mike Scott for the go-ahead 3-pointer with 18 seconds left as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Brooklyn Nets 112-108 on Saturday to take a 3-1 series lead in their NBA playoff contest. Elsewhere, his compatriot Paschal Siakam weighed in with 16 points in just 36 minutes of action as the Toronto Raptors beat the Orlando Magic 107-85 to lead their series 3-1