Coulibaly named MVP, headlines All-Star Five

BEIRA (FIBA U16 Women African Championship 2017) – After guiding Mali to their fifth FIBA U16 Women's African Championship title, Aissetou Coulibaly is the Most Valuable Player at the Ferroviario da Beira Stadium on Saturday in Mozambique.

"This means so much to me but I must congratulate my teammates too because without them I would not achieve this. We worked together as a team and we have achieved our target." - Coulibaly 

The efficient small forward got off to a flying start with a game high 17 points against Egypt in a 66-33 win in the tournament opener to set the pace for Mali.

Ultimately, she accumulated 131 points over the six games as leading top scorer with an average of 21.8 points, but it was her team work, ability to bring out the best from her teammates and zeal to win that saw her crowned MVP. 

Talking to Fiba.basketball, Coulibaly insists: ''This means so much to me but I must congratulate my teammates too because without them I would not achieve this. We worked together as a team and we have achieved our target."

With that Coulibaly booked her place in the All-Star Five along with Cacio Antonio who guided Angola to the Final and a place at the FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup in Minsk, Belarus for the very first time. 

Mozambican captain Noemia Alexandre Massingue, Habiba Elgizawy of Egypt and Sika Kone of Mali complete the lineup. 

The Fair Play Award went to Mozambique while Mozambique's Suraya Rijal finished as Best Rebounder and Malian guard Diouma Berthe was the best three point shooter. 

FIBA