Africa’s Young Basketball Talents See Action at Afrobasket U-18 Championship

The 2024 Afrobasket U-18 Championship has reached its quarterfinal stage, with some of Africa’s most promising young basketball talents on display. Unfortunately, Nigeria’s Under-18 Men’s Basketball team, the J’Tigers, have bowed out of the competition following their 81-70 loss to Mali on Thursday night.

The Malians took control from the start, winning the first quarter 23-19 and leading through the break at 40-38. Despite the J’Tigers’ efforts to take charge, Mali ultimately emerged victorious, ending Nigeria’s hopes of progressing to the semi-finals.

The J’Tigers had previously outclassed Uganda 72-61 on Tuesday, while Mali defeated Ivory Coast 73-69 to reach this stage. The winners and runners-up of the championship will qualify for the FIBA World Championship billed for Switzerland.

Meanwhile, the J’Tigress, Nigeria’s Under-18 Women’s Basketball team, have made it to the semi-finals after beating Egypt 61-56 in their quarterfinals. They will now face Uganda in the semi-final stage on Friday night.

In other news, the Rwanda Under-18 Men’s national team has been eliminated from the FIBA AfroBasket 2024 after a shock 53-67 quarterfinal loss to Cameroon at the University of Pretoria Gymnasium on Thursday.

Rwanda started strongly, claiming the first quarter 16-14, but Cameroon fought back to win the second quarter 22-16 and take a 36-32 halftime lead. Despite Rwanda’s efforts to mount a comeback, Cameroon dominated the final quarter 16-4 to secure their victory.

Cameroon’s Amadou Seini led the way with 15 points and 23 rebounds, while Hermann Bel Daryl Bay added 15 points. Rwanda’s Dylan Kayijuka poured in 19 points, and Sean Mwesigwa contributed 12 points. Rwanda will now play a classification game for the 5th to 8th positions.