A look back at the 2023 FIBA U16 African Championship

 

MONASTIR (Tunisia) - Perennial finalists in the FIBA U16 African Championship Egypt and Mali are still pondering what hit them in the 2023 edition of the Championship.

For the first time in the history of the championship, it was neither Egypt nor Mali national anthem that filled the air as the tournament came to a close last Sunday at the Mohamed Mzali Arena in Monastir, Tunisia; instead it was that Guinea.

Egypt and Mali were drawn in different groups. 

Tunisia, Rwanda, Cote d'Ivoire, Angola and Mali were in Group A while Group B had Egypt Guinea, Uganda, Morocco and Chad in that order.

Mali handed Cote d'Ivoire a 72-49 defeat while Egypt hit the century mark with 100-79 win over Morocco.

A good start no doubt to boost their confidence. Mali had its first scare in their second Group A game against Rwanda.

Though, Mali won 76-72, the East African side showed Mali's vulnerability. Egypt, on the other hand, did not survive the onslaught from Guinea as the Pharaohs fell 83-78.

Mali got their confidence restored with a 67-43 win over Angola just as Egypt went 116-48 over Uganda. The last Group Games was no different for both former champions with Mali handing a 77-42 defeat to host Tunisia while Egypt dusted the ambitions of Chad with 83-70 win.

At the end of the Group Stage, Mali finished fist in Group A with 8 points from 4 games while Egypt was second in Group B with 7 points from 3 wins and a loss behind Guinea that had the maximum 8 points.

The Quarter-Finals Stage had Mali against Morocco.

For the second time in the championship, the West African nation escaped by the skin of the teeth in a 76-74 win while Egypt dispatched Rwanda 94-78 for both sides to move on and keep the dream of either teams reaching the the Final.

As it turned out , Mali and Egypt unavoidably clashed in the Semi-Final with Egypt prevailing over Mali in a game that was a reminder of their Final encounter at the 2021 edition of the Championship. Egypt had a 66-58 victory over Mali to secure a place in the Final with the hope that they will go on to win a 6th title.

Revelation of the Championship, Guinea went from the Group Stage through the Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals without dropping any game.

In the Final, Egypt came ready to claim the championship and take a revenge over Guinea for defeating them in the Group Stage.

The first quarter of the Final game was a close call that ended 21-20 in favor of Guinea but the second and third quarters brought out the desire to conquer from Egypt as they took them 28-23 and 17-10 respectively for a 65-54 advantage for Egypt.

The money quarter decided where the championship title was heading as Guinea returned more determined and overpowered Egypt with a 30-11 score to close the game at 84-76.

The defeat left the Egyptians in tears throughout the ceremonies as they could not hold back tears from the agony of defeat. Most painful for them is the fact that the defeat did not come come from their arch rivals Mali but a tiny Guinea that had no standing before the championship.

In fact, the Guineans were not given any chance to come this far but they sure surprised all to win their first ever title in any FIBA Africa organized championship. In addition to winning the title, Guinea will be at the FIBA U17 World Cup next year.

In the All Star Five, Guinea had Toure Nour Gassim and Diane Araphan. The others are Shahin Mohamed Wael (Egypt), Solhi Rayane (Morocco) and Diop Mahamadou (Mali).

For the individual awards, Guinea was represented with Diane Araphan as the best rebounder with a total of 121 from games. Solhi Rayane from Morocco was named the best three pointer with 21 made shots. He also was the best scorer with 135 points while the Most Valuable Player award was that of Toure Nour Gassim  of Guinea.

FINAL STANDINGS
1. Guinea
2. Egypt
3. Mali
4. Angola
5. Rwanda
6. Cote d'Ivoire
7. Chad
8. Morocco
9. Tunisia
10. Uganda

FIBA