ZARAGOZA (2016 FIBA U17 World Championship) - Mali set out to make history at the 2016 FIBA U17 World Championship and the Africans' needed just their second game in their maiden journey to the global spectacle to bag their first win.

After getting over-rolled by hosts and European strongholds Spain in their U17 Worlds debut, head coach Zoumana Coulibaly's team snatched their first scalp in taking down Argentina 56-47 to take the driver’s seat in avoiding last place in Group B. 

"We are very happy to get this first win," said Coulibaly, whose team is one of six newcomers at the biennial tournament.

"What was really important was that we played team basketball and we need to continue to play this way," added small forward Lassana Haidara. 

Mali regrouped after Spain loss to beat Argentina. 

The coach was really excited about the team's response after a poor showing against Spain.

"We did have a very bad loss yesterday (against Spain) so today we brought the players together and we spoke honestly with them. We told them that we had to win this game against Argentina at all costs," Coulibaly said. 

The victory means Mali have good chances of avoiding last place in the group, which would likely mean avoiding a Round of 16 match-up against the three-time undefeated reigning champions United States. 

We did have a very bad loss yesterday (against Spain) so today we brought the players together and we spoke honestly with them. We told them that we had to win this game against Argentina at all costs. - Coulibaly 

Coulibaly said however that the victory will not make the team change its expectations for Zaragoza. 

"No it hasn't. You have to understand that we're here representing not only Mali but the African continent. And we don't measure our success or our expectations at this championship in terms of wins and losses," Coulibaly said. 

"Mali are representing not only Mali but the African continent" - coach Coulibaly

The Malians say they need to focus on their own game and just see what happens.

"We just want to go out game after game and be a match for our opponents, be as competitive as possible. If we do that, we can be satisfied about having done our best."

They already have made history with their first win. Now it’s just a matter of seeing how far they can go. 

FIBA