MONASTIR (Tunisia) - Cote d'Ivoire and Rwanda had reasons to smile as they advanced to the 2023 FIBA U16 African Championship Fifth-Place Game scheduled for Sunday.

When Ivorians and Rwandans met during the Group Phase, Rwanda prevailed 74-69.

In Friday's the other Classification Round fixture, Morocco and Chad will clash in the Seventh-Place Game.

COTE D'IVOIRE v CHAD

The Elephants of Cote d'Ivoire on Friday defeated Chad 85-71 in the first Classification Round game.

Chad, under the guidance of Coach Belemgote Mdoumbe, started strong taking the first two quarters 17-16 and 18-9 to go into the break.

The last two quarters went the way of Cote d'Ivoire as they found their scoring form to take them at 30-18 and 30-18, respectively.

Mamadou Sako led the scoring for Cote d'Ivoire with a double-double score 22 points, 11 rebounds while Amadou Bah added 20 points and Konan Koffi contributed 13 points.

However, the player who made the most difference was Mahamat Aka Ousmane of Chad as he finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds.

Ange Harper Gogoto added 17 points but it was not enough to stop the Ivorians who had found a rhythm to their game.

MOROCCO v RWANDA

Rayane Solhi was in fantastic form for Morocco with a game high 29 points but at the end it was Rwanda that was victorious.

Solhi, who had showed class right from the Group Phase, did not disappoint his fans as he carried his team until the dying seconds of the last quarter.

Chad led 76-75 with 00:27 seconds left on the clock but a foul on Joseph Nshmiye saw him score the two free-throws and snatched victory for the East African nation at 77-76.

Solhi's teammate Mohamed Regragui added 21 points and Omar Karem scored 13 points.

Winners Rwanda had Joseph Nshimiye lead the floor for his team as he scored 17 points and Plamedie Bizimana Kayira who was on the floor for 28:27 minutes added 15 points.

FIBA