Tunisia remain without a win, Rwanda improve to 2-1

 

MONASTIR (Tunisia) - Four days into the 2023 FIBA U16 African Championship, host Tunisia are yet to find their bearing and still without a win so far.

Morocco eventually recorded a win, and Uganda - with just 8 players on the roster - couldn't take the heat from the Egypt team.

Below is a rundown of how the teams fared.

UGANDA v EGYPT (GROUP B)

Egypt seem to be back on track as they bounced back from Saturday's 83-78 shocking defeat to Guinea to beat Uganda 116-48 on Sunday. 

Much as Uganda tried to put up a fight, It was Egypt's day. 

Ali Assran was one of the two Egyptians to finish with double-double figures alongside Youssef Elhalawany.

Assran contributed 23 points and 18 rebounds while Elhalawany came up with 17 points and 14 assists as Egypt improved to 2-1.

Ali Assran reacting to the win said:"After the the loss to Guinea, we had no choice than to win against Uganda, though it was not an easy game as the score shows. We look forward to heading into the next round more confident and ready to go for the title," he told FIBA.basketball.

Uganda guard Amos Mugisha noted:. "This result is not what we planned and the Egyptians surprised us but we're not giving up as we look forward to making it to the next round."

Though, Tejan Joel Ruggetteled scored a game high 24 points, his efforts still fell short.

RWANDA v COTE D'IVOIRE (GROUP A)

Rwanda took their tally to 2-1 following their 74-69 win over Cote d'Ivoire that have now lost 3 games with one win from their four games.

Rwanda captain, Sean Williams was again the driving force for his team with 21 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Joseph Nshimiye added 11, 18 rebounds, 7 assists while Juru Cedrick Ntigurigwa also scored 11 points.

Williams told FIBA.basketball that Rwanda had to keep their cool when it mattered the most as Cote d'Ivoire came fighting back.

"As a team, we had follow the instructions on the bench by keeping calm even in the face of our opponent fighting back. It worked for us and we won at the end of the encounter. We faltered in some areas and will need to work on them before our next game."

CHAD v MOROCCO (GROUP B)

Morocco had fight through the skin of their teeth to ink a win over a resilient Chad winning 90-86.

The victory, which came through a hard-fought battle, was one that left both coaches almost out of breath with the lead changing 16 times and 13 times that both sides tied during the game.

Rayane Solhi was dominant for Morocco sinking 24 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Mohamed Regragui added 20 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists to ensure that victory was guaranteed.

Solhi noted the win was a very important one for his team. "This win is important to us being our first since the championship started. I can tell that this is just beginning of good things to come our way because we are better motivated by the win."

Though Chad's Aristide Allaramadji  led the floor with 29 points his team failed to deliver. "The points I scored is nice for me but I wish that my teammates will step up so that they too can score more points and that will give us victory.  That Morocco scored 90 points against us shows that our defense was weak. I will adjust to better our other games," he said.

Aside the top scorer, Mahamat Aka Ousmane was responsible for a double-double score of 16 points, 18 rebounds, 2 assists while Ange Harper Gogoto dropped 14 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists. 

ANGOLA v TUNISIA (GROUP A)

Tunisia are the only team still without a win in Group A.

Rising from two earlier defeats, the Tunisians came out on Sunday ready for war, but they came up short 48-45 against Angola.

Tunisia's Hamza Masrouki dropped 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists to lead his side. He is followed by Ahmed Bedoui with 6 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists.

The host will need to beat Cote d'Ivoire on Monday if there will be a possibility of moving into the Quarter-Finals.

FIBA