Egypt secured the African ticket to 2008 Beijing Olympics with a thrilling five-set victory over Algeria in Durban.

Egypt looked set to wrap up a comfortable 3-0 win when they moved five points ahead in the third set before Algeria mounted a stunning comeback.

They edged a tight third set 27-25 before taking the fourth 25-22 to take it into a decider.

Egypt dominated early in the fifth when left attacker Saleh Fathy and Hamdy El Safi did good job to lead 6-5 and 8-7 at the turn of the court. After the turn Egypt pulled clear to win 15-9 and complete the two-hour victory.

Meanwhile, Cameroon came from two sets behind to win their third-place play-off match against Tunisia 3-2, led by the Japan-based spiker Jean Ndaki.

Eurosport