Gabon's 2012 Africa Cup of Nations run may have come to an end, but striker Eric Mouloungui feels the co-hosts have done the tournament proud.
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The Panthers progressed to the quarter-finals with a 100% record from Group C, including a thrilling 3-2 victory over north African giants Morocco, while they also grabbed wins over Tunisia and Niger.
However, Gabon's African dream was brought to an end on Sunday as they lost 5-4 on penalties to Mali after ending the 90 minutes, and extra-time, level pegging at 1-1.
However, their progress to the last eight far surpassed all expectations, and Nice forward Mouloungui feels the national team have plenty to cheer about.
"Unfortunately it is now over but we have the satisfaction of not having lost in regular time in any of our matches at the tournament," he told Reuters.
"We don't have to make any excuses to anyone, we had a young team and young players who made a big step up."
Meanwhile, coach Gernot Rohr was equally generous in his praise, adding: "The team gave a lot physically in the pool matches and many of the players were not used to that kind of intensity in games against such quality opposition.
"My team gave everything they had."
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