Standout Assitan Diarisso named MVP, joins All-Star team
Assitan Diarisso made her presence felt throughout the 2023 FIBA U16 Women's African Championship, and it came as no surprise that she was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament.
MONASTIR (Tunisia) - Assitan Diarisso made her presence felt throughout the 2023 FIBA U16 Women's African Championship, and it came as no surprise that she was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament.
She was joined in the All-Tournament team by four other players who inspired their countries to a podium finish.
The 14-year-old Diarisso stamped her outstanding performance with 19 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals as Mali beat Egypt 57-56 in the Final of the biennial continental competition.
Diarisso average 23 points and 4.8 rebounds in six games, and, besides her MVP award, she took home two other individual awards: The best-scorer and the best three-pointer awards of the tournament.
A lethal three-point specialist, Diarisso was 5-for-15 from long range in the Semi-Finals and Final as Mali reminded everyone who rulers of the U16 tournament in Africa are.
Other players making it to the All-Tournament included Diarisso's teammate Tenin Diarra, Angola's Ana Servico, and Egyptian duo of Injy Elghayesh and Kadiga Abouelghait.
ANA SERVICO
Servico, the only Angolan to score in double digits in Saturday's Third-Place game against hosts Tunisia, finished with 24 points as the Southern Africans took home the bronze medal thanks to a 50-43 triumph.
Servico averaged 18.5 points, 7 rebounds and 2.5 assists in six games.
The 15-year-old's best performance happened in the 64-58 Quarter-Finals win over Uganda when she bagged 27 points.
Angola return return home with a 3-3 record.
TENIN DIARRA
Mali concluded their campaign with an impressive 6-0 mark, and Diarra deservedly emerged as one of the best talents in the tournament.
Diarra averaged 9 points 8.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists.
INJY ELGHAYESH
The 16-year-old Elgayesh made threes (2-for-5), she converted her free-throws (3-for-3), she even dished out two assists in the decider game against Mali, but 13 points in 29 minutes on the floor turned out fruitless as Egypt came up short 57-56.
Elgayesh averaged 15.3 points across Egypt's six games,
KADIGA ABOUELGHAIT
Abouelghait who averaged 20.5 minutes in the first games of the tournament, was on the floor for just 14 minutes, contributing 5 points and 4 rebounds.
Overall, the 191m (6ft 3in) center averaged 11.2 points and 8 rebounds.
OTHER AWARDS:
Best rebounder:
Guinea's Zenabou Diack led all rebounders with 13.8 boards per game
Fair Play:
Morocco
Both finalists of the 2023 FIBA U16 Women's African Championship, Mali and Egypt, earned the rights to represent Africa at the 2024 FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup.
FINAL STANDINGS:
Mali (6-0)
Egypt (5-1)
Angola (3-3)
Tunisia (3-3)
Morocco (3-3)
Uganda (2-4)
Rwanda (1-5)
Guinea (0-6)
Nigeria * (withdrew)
FIBA