ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - The FIBA U18 Women's AfroBasket is upon us and as action gets underway in Pretoria, South Africa, here are some players to watch out.
Maxine Modesta Anyango (Uganda)
She was a standout performer for Junior Gazelles during the 2023 U16 AfrBbasket in Tunisia. She averaged 19.2 points per game, 10.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists. The 16-year-old has already qualified Uganda for the 3X3 FIBA U23 World Cup in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Emedie Damaris Phalonne (Cameroon)
The 17-year-old has already featured for the Cameroon U23 team in the Francophone where they won silver. She was the third best rebounder at the Games, averaging 10 points and 10 rebounds per game.
She was in the final rosters of both the senior national team for the 2025 AfroBasket Qualifiers and U18 national team, the selectors allowing her to remain with the age-group competition.
Assitan Diarisso (Mali)
A stellar show as Mali picked their record eighth U16 AfroBasket title last year saw her named MVP and is expected to be part of the U18 team chasing glory in South Africa.
Reatlegile Taukobong (South Africa)
Despite the country being largely inactive in FIBA events, Taukobong has ruffled feathers whenever the chance presents itself.
She attended last year’s FIBA Africa Youth camp and was names MVP in this year’s inter-provincial tournament, an accolade that has her as one to watch in the tournament.
Mallé Doumbia (Mali)
Doumbia took the women's MVP trophy as well as the top scorer award, with 61 points in this year’s Tournoi de l'Amitié, a tournament for young basketball players from East and North Africa.
Ines Boulboul (Morocco)
She featured for her country in the U16 Women's AfroBasket in 2023, averaging 11.5 points per game, 5.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists as Morocco settled for fifth.
Presented with an opportunity to qualify the North Africans to their first ever U18 AfroBasket, she gave her all to defeat hosts Tunisia in the Zone 1 qualifiers for the ticket.
Pius Beggi (Nigeria)
She is already a household name in Nigeria's basketball scene and was instrumental in helping her side qualifying for the continental showpiece for the first time since 2008.
Islem Ayari (Tunisia)
She stood out for her side in the U16 Women's AfroBasket last year, averaging 10 points 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. As Tunisia return for the first time since 2014, her presence is expected to boost their chances of being on the podium.
Simubali Cholwe (Zambia)
She was instrumental in Zambia’s success, contributing significantly with 10 points, 17 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal as they defeated Zimbabwe to book a spot in the continental competition. Despite this being their debut, they should not be taken lightly.
FIBA