LAS PALMAS (2010 FIBA World Championship) - Cote D'Ivoire suffered a narrow 95-92 loss to the Canadian Developmental Team in their latest warm-up game ahead of the FIBA World Championship.
Cote D'Ivoire could not find an answer to Jevohn Shepherd, who poured in 27 points for Canada, who bounced back from a heavy loss to Spain the night before.
The Africans had started brightly and led 23-20 after the opening 10 minutes. But as Shepherd found his groove, it became harder and harder to hold Canada back.
They led by five at half-time, but the drama was far from over in this see-saw encounter.
Cote D'Ivoire outscored Canada 23-13 in the fourth quarter to take control, only to suffer a defensive collapse as Canada poured in 31 points in the final stanza to win it.
Mohamed Kone led Cote D'Ivoire with 19 points, while Pape-Philippe Amagou added 18. Cote D'Ivoire will now face a much stiffer challenge against world champions Spain in their next assignment.
FIBA