Cote d'Ivoire pull out of FIBA U18 African Championship 2018

BAMAKO (FIBA U18 African Championship 2018) - A last-minute decision saw Cote d'Ivoire pull out of the FIBA U18 African Championship 2018 currently taking place in Bamako, Mali.

Initially expected to arrive in the Malian capital on Friday, the day of the start of the competition, the country's Basketball Federation later issued a statement explaining their decision.

By the time of the announcement, the drawn had already been held, and Cote d'Ivoire had been drawn in Group B along with reigning champions Angola, Senegal, Tunisia, Rwanda, and Algeria.

With the decision, the number of participating team is now reduced to eleven.

The Ivorians last featured at FIBA U18 African Championships two years ago in Kigali, Rwanda, where they finished in Eighth-Place as a result of a 1-6 record.

Prior to the 2016 edition of the  African Championship, the 'Elephants'' claimed a Second-Place in 2012, and, as a result, they earned the right to represent Africa - along with then-African champions Senegal - at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in the Czech Republic.

FIBA