The other match of the day in Group B saw Egypt produce a strong fourth quarter to overcome the Central African Republic 72-56.

Egypt went into the final quarter with a seven point lead before winning quarter four 22-13 to seal an opening day win.

In Group A, hosts Rwanda pulled clear in the fourth quarter to secure an 82-68 triumph against the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Rwanda started the final quarter with a two point advantage but won the final period 25-13, in front of the country's President Paul Kagame who was in attendance with members of his family.

The final match of the day between Angola and Cape Verde went to overtime with the teams locked at 66-66 after four quarters of play.

One period of overtime was required to settle the sides, with Cape Verde winning it by 11 points to five, to seal a 77-71 victory, and in the process cause a big upset against the eleven-times winners.

Walter Tavares, who last played for Cape Verde at the 2013 AfroBasket tournament, and currently plays for Real Madrid top scored for his country with 20 points, 18 rebounds and six blocks.

The top scorer in the game was Carlos Almeida of Angola with 21 points, while Almeida was also responsible for a bizarre interruption that lasted 25 minutes, after a shot from him late in the final quarter shattered the backboard.

Reacting to the victory Tavares said: "We fought the whole game and we got what we deserved. This is just one win, we have to go step-by-step, respect everybody and try to win games."

Tomorrow the opening matches in Groups C and D are scheduled to get underway.

In Group C, Nigeria, runners-up at the last edition in 2017 are due to face Mali, before Ivory Coast take on Kenya.

In Group D, Senegal are set to play Uganda before Cameroon take on South Sudan.