ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - Ten games into the 2026 U18 AfroBasket, a number of staggering individual performances continue to emerge game after game. Friday's four games were no exception.
Chad, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire and Madagascar were victors as Groups A and B took shape with just one round of games to play.
All four of the winning teams from Friday's games relied heavily on some of their key players.
Below are the players whose performances stood out.
Harinosy A’Ranty Rasetriarivony (MADAGASCAR)
Harinosy A’Ranty Rasetriarivony embodies a modern-day point guard, and he showed all those qualities during Madagascar’s win over Gabon in the opening game of the campaign.
A willing passer of the ball, Rasetriarivony registered 10 assists but also showcased his scoring ability, netting 25 points.
A’Ranty once again proved that performance against Gabon wasn’t a one off by guiding Madagascar to a second consecutive win, beating Morocco 58-48.
Passing is A’Ranty’s second nature. The point guard made 10 assists in the win but also led his team’s scoring with 13 points and exhibited defensive awareness swiping a tournament-high 6 steals
Ngaba Yaya (CHAD)
Chad’s historic 59-50 win over Nigeria has Ngaba Yaya written all over it. The captain provided not only the much needed leadership on the court, he was immensely productive on both ends of the floor.
In a game played with caution, Yaya did a little bit of everything on the court. The forward scored 15 points, pulled down a tournament-high 21 rebounds, made 4 steals and blocked 4 shots.
A smooth operator on offense but a beast and menace on defense, Yaya did it all for Chad.
Mohamed Keita (MALI)
As defending champions Mali made it two wins in two games with an explosive 113-37 win over Gabon, Mohamed Keita put on a scoring exhibition.
The shooting guard netted 28 points in 26 minutes, the highest single-game points scored by a player at the tournament so far. Keita also made 5 assists and swiped 5 steals.
Karl-Randell Kouame-Zeze (Côte d’Ivoire)
Côte d’Ivoire have presented themselves as a contender for the 2026 FIBA U18 AfroBasket title if the performance in the first two games is anything to go by.
The hosts were barely tested in their tournament opener, but the same can’t be said of the game against Egypt. They needed to work for the 89-62 win.
Leading that team effort was Karl-Randell Kouame-Zeze, whose efficient game-high 18 points were accompanied by good defense on his opposite, Hussain Youssef.
Kouame-Zeze had good shot selection and was perfect on the line.
FIBA