05/09/2018
Julio Chitunda's African Message
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Top 10 players from FIBA U18 African Championship 2018

SHEFFIELD (Julio Chitunda's African Message) - As far as I can remember, the FIBA U18 African Championship 2018 provided us with some of the best talents in the history of the competition.

Of course, the 2016 edition of the U18 African tournament introduced us the likes of Tarek Raafat, Silvio De Sousa, and Bruno Fernando who - deservedly made it to the All-Star team and delighted fans with countless eye-catching plays in Kigali. And in 2006, Wally Coulibaly and Serge Ibaka - then a rising star with his native Republic of Congo - took the South African city of Durban by a storm.

However, a number of hugely talented players lit up the highlights in the Malian capital city of Bamako in this year's edition of the tournament.

Some of them - including members of the NBA Academy Africa - came from as far as France, Spain, the USA to show off their talents in one of the most popular basketball events in the African basketball calendar.

In no particular order, here are the top-10 players from the U18 Bamako 2018 showdown:

Siriman Kanoute (Mali)

At just 16 years of age [he turns 17 on 25th September], Kanoute is too skilled, and highly-confident for his age. He handled the new Africa champions Mali's offense as a real leader, and it came as no surprise that he was named MVP of the competition.

Only two years ago, the 6ft1in (1.80m) point guard inspired Mali to the U16 African Championship title. 

Earlier this year, Kanoute introduced himself to the world by leading all scorers at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup in Argentina.

Kanoute reminds me of Angola great Miguel Lutonda, who now serves as an assistant coach to his country's U18 team. Kanoute reprsesents everything Mali basketball needed at this moment in time.

Ibrahim Ibrahim (Egypt)

Ibrahim had a slow start to the competition, but the 17-year-old stepped up when his country needed him most.

He recorded all his three double-doubles in the knock out stage, finishing with an average of 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists in eight games as Egypt came in third place.

Abdoul Karim Coulibaly (Mali)

Coulibaly could be described as the best example of a player who learns from his failures. Only three years ago, he saw Egypt come to Bamako and destroy his and his teammates' dreams of winning the U16 African Championship in front of their home fans, despite Coulibaly's decent display in the final. Fast forward to last week and the 6ft8in (2.04m) power forward transformed his game to a higher level and became one of Mali's top performers with averages of 14 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Biram Faye (Senegal)

Faye was the heart and soul of Senegal in Bamako. He was superb throughout the tournament and the main reason Senegal depart Bamako with a silver medal (in all fairness, he deserved better than a second-place).

Just take a look at how he denied Egypt in the Semi-Finals.

 

The 6ft9in (2.07m) forward finished with a tournament-high seven double-double in eight games. 

Pierre Kasereka (DR Congo)

Only one player in Bamako scored more points than the 17-year-old point guard (Senegal's Biram Faye had two more points in eight games), who poured in a total of 167 points in seven games. A terrific three-point shooter and ball handler, Kasereka was huge helping his country claim a fifth-place finish. 

He finished with a tournament-high 24 points per game and a team-best four assists per game. His numbers speak for themselves, don't they?

Adrees Zeew (Libya)

Libya may have finished in a modest eighth-place, but Zeew made his presence felt. As well as finishing with team-highs 22 points and seven rebounds per game, he became one of the three players to score a tournament-best 31 points in a game. 

Elias Ngoga (Rwanda)

Ngoga's 12 points and seven rebounds per game don't really do justice to this hugely talented forward. At 6ft9in (2.06m), he displays a terrific jump shot ability.  

Jean-Jacques Boissy (Senegal)

His time at the NBA Academy Africa seems to be paying off. A skilled point guard, the 18-year-old guard powered the Senegalese offense with his tournament-high six assists per game. 

Heritier Ngalamulume (DR Congo)

 

Although Kasereka was DR Congo's prime scorer, Ngalamulume dominated the painted area as his 14 points and eleven rebounds per games show.

Thierry Nkundwa (Rwanda)

 

Perhaps in the most important game of his career so far, Nkundwa buried a record six three-pointers in an 81-63 win over Algeria. Only Egypt's Momen Hassan hit a similar mark in Bamako.

Julio Chitunda
FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

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Julio Chitunda

Julio Chitunda

Julio Chitunda, a University of Sheffield alumni and former semi-professional player, has worked for a number of Portuguese media outlets as well as The Press Association and covered international basketball for over a decade. Through his column, he offers an insight into basketball on the world's second biggest continent.