Angola edge out Egypt after overtime to win fourth FIBA Africa U18 title

KIGALI – (FIBA Africa U18 Championship 2016) - Angola needed overtime to defeat reigning champions Egypt 86-82 in Sunday's Final of the FIBA Africa U18 Championship 2016 in the Rwandan capital city of Kigali.

A 25-16 lead in the first quarter saw Angola take charge of the game early on but Egypt launched a strong comeback in the second period to trail by just one point 41-40 at half-time.

The lead changed 10 times and the game was tied on eight occasions in the lead-up to a tightly contested fourth quarter that ended with the score tied at 77 and requiring an additional five minutes to determine the winner.

It was Cley Cabanga's clutch offense that won it for Angola as they went a perfect 8-0 to win the continental showpiece for the first time since 1988.

Cabanga's team-mate Childe Dundao had 19 points while Bruno Fernandes, who fouled out in the fourth quarter, finished with a game-high 21 points.

Angola's Silvio Sousa was unsurprisingly named the tournament's Most Valuable Player and headed the to the All-Star Five where he was joined by Sano Gasana (Rwanda), Tarek Mahmoud Taafat (Egypt), Mohamed Rassil (Tunisia, and teammate Bruno Fernandes (Angola).

FIBA Africa U18 Championship 2016 All-Star Five (From left to right): Bruno Fernandes(ANG), Silvio Sousa (ANG),Mohamed Adam Rassil(TUN),Tarek Mahmoud Raafat(EGY) and Sano Gasana(RWA)

Patrick Mwamba of Democratic Republic of Congo was the highest points scorer of the tournament with 160 points in eight games.

Meanwhile, Mali defeated Tunisia 59-52 to earn a hard-fought victory and 3rd-place finish that secured them a spot at the FIBA U19 World Championship 2017 that will be played in Cairo, Egypt.

Rwanda beat Democratic Republic of Congo 77-73 to come in fifth, their best-ever finish in the competition. 

In the day's other game, Algeria edged Cote d’Ivoire 55-54 to secure seventh place while the Ivorians settled for eighth.

FIBA Africa U18 Championship 2016 Final Standings
1 Angola
2 Egypt
3 Mali
4 Tunisia
5 Rwanda
6 Dem.Rep. of Congo
7 Algeria
8 Cote d'Ivoire
9 Uganda
10 Gabon
11 Republic of Benin

FIBA