All-Star Five highlights FIBA Youth Camp Africa in Bamako

BAMAKO (Mali) - The FIBA Youth Camp Africa 2023 held in Bamako was met with a resounding success with the three-day camp being highlighted by the selection of the All-Star Five by coaches and experts.

The FIBA Youth Camp Africa is run by FIBA Africa in partnership with NBA Africa.

Guinea's Kourouma Mohamed, who helped his country to the title of the FIBA U16 African Championship 2023 in Cairo, Egypt's Anas Elshakery, DR Congo's Clement Kasongo, Madagascar's A'Ranty Rasetriarivony and Morocco's Mohammed Regragui were named to the camp's All-Star Five.

They stood out among a group of 55 players, aged 16 and under and hailed from 32 African nations, who gathered in Mali's capital city from September 20 to 22.

They were supervised by 15 coaches while receiving training from FIBA experts. The training included sessions on drills and tactics, all of which were put into practice during the games.

Naoufal Uarichi, the Director of the FIBA Youth Camp Africa in Bamako, expressed his satisfaction with the player's performance on the first day, saying: "I was delighted to see the incredible energy emanating from these young players. They have incomparable physical talent," underlining the work of the FIBA experts.

FIBA Africa has long made development one of its top priorities, and Jean-Michel Ramaroson, Chairman of the FIBA Africa Development Council, expressed his satisfaction with the results, praising Mali for promoting discipline among young people.

"Mali is one of the African countries that identifies and trains young talents. The statistics from Mali's victorious youth championships position them as one of the top two countries in terms of training and development. It was, therefore, only right that Mali should benefit from a youth camp," he said, stressing the strategic aspect of the U16 category.

Ramaroson also noted that the West African nation benefited from the mini-basketball initiation program a few years ago.

"Mini Basketball is fundamental to everything. Training adopts a pyramidal approach, with its base allowing quality to rise," Ramaroson emphasized.

Jean-Claude Sidibe, chairperson of the Malian Basketball Federation, described the merits of the youth camp. He stated that it provided an opportunity for young basketball players to acquaint themselves with each other. He also recalled Mali's exceptional track record at the youth level, having won trophies in various youth categories. 

FIBA