Dembele stars as Rwanda Regional Youth Camp concludes 

 

KIGALI (Rwanda) - Malian youngster Suzane Dembele was voted the Most Valuable Player (MVP) leading a list of five girls who made the All-Star team as curtains fell on the FIBA Africa all-girls Regional Youth Camp in Rwanda. 

The camp brought together 45 U16 girls from 15 countries under the guidance of 15 coaches over 3 days of intense action. 

Dembele, who was part of Mali's squad that won the FIBA Africa U16 women's title, the eighth for the country, on 22 July was joined on the all-star team by compatriot Couda Keita. 

Egypt's Malak Ahmed Ibrahim who was a joy to watch in the all-star match, clinching the titles of the best 3-point shooter and highest scorer of the camp as well as South Africa's Reatlegile Taukobong and the Nigerian Oyoko Nkem completed the all-star team. 

Speaking on the sidelines of the camp, Ivory Coast former international Christelle N'Garsanet, currently coaching the Florida International University team, and who was part of the experts brought in to help run the camp termed the experience as great. 

"It has been great working with the young girls and coaches coming from all parts of Africa. We have been working on different skill sets. 

"I took the girls through agility training, footwork, speed and it has been great witnessing the progression and improvement each day.

"We threw a lot at them and they did a great job of understanding what was taught, memorising it and remembering as the camp progressed. It has been good to see and a good experience for everyone," the former centre player for Newyork Liberty in the WNBA told Rwanda federation media in an interview.

Coach Christelle N'Garsanet

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Haya Elhalawany who was part of the Egyptian team that lost to Mali 57-56 in the final of the 2023 FIBA Africa U16 women's competition underscored the camp's impact on development. 

"It is a very important camp that exposes a lot of players to different cultures and gives the players a lot of experience which is good. 

"I have learned a lot. From different forms of defence to finishing while on offense and much more that I am taking back to my team. 

"We are grateful to the organisers for the vibe they have created throughout the camp. Everyone has been supportive and they want us to learn. The coaching was good. They were ready to teach and patiently taught us what we don't know until we got it right," the youngster offered while speaking to Ferwaba. 

This marked the end of a successful third edition of these camps. In the inaugural edition, 35 countries were invited with 45 girls and 90 boys participating in the three camps held in Nairobi, Kenya, Saly, Senegal and Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire. 

The second edition assumed a similar format as the first, where the boys' and girls' camps run concurrently in one venue. 

60 players per gender were involved from 35 invited countries. The Youth players gathered in Tana, Madagascar, Saly, Senegal and Casablanca, Morocco. 

The third edition assumed a slightly different format with a boys' camp held in Bamako while the girls' camp was hosted in Kigali with 55 and 45 participants respectively. 

FIBA