KIGALI (Rwanda) – Egypt and Cameroon secured their respective spots in the Quarter-Finals on the final day of the Group Phase of the 2025 FIBA U16 Women's AfroBasket.
Egypt needed to maintain their dominance against Morocco, while Cameroon were under pressure to defeat Kenya and advance to the next round.
Egypt handed fellow North Africans Morocco a tough lesson with a commanding 90–20 win, while Cameroon outplayed Kenya in their final group game, winning 62–43.
Ruthless Egypt secured another record-breaking winning margin
Just three days after crushing Kenya 92–29, Egypt reaffirmed their status as title contenders by overwhelming Morocco 90–20 on the final day of Group C of the 2025 FIBA U16 Women's AfroBasket tournament.
Unlike in their game against Kenya, in which they never trailed, Morocco opened the scoring with a free throw from Lamia H'saina. This was the only time that Egypt found themselves behind before going on to score, eventually leading by as many as 71 points at some point.
The Egyptians completed a clean sweep, defeating Cameroon, Kenya, and Morocco, each time by double-digit margins.
Once again, coach Mohamed Abdelrahman’s side applied pressure from start to finish, even if, as he admitted, they weren’t flawless. "We prepared well for this game. We studied Morocco’s play. But we were too slow in the first two quarters," he said.
That sluggishness was evident in the opening period, which he described as 'far from the Egyptian average', during which his players scored only 10 points, including one three-pointer.
However, they regrouped in the second quarter, making a 21–5 run in the opening minutes and heading into halftime with a 32–9 lead. 'I asked them to do better, and they understood exactly what I meant,' the coach added.
The third quarter proved decisive as Egypt unleashed their firepower with a crushing 31–3 run. Morocco never recovered, and the Egyptians maintained the pressure with a 27-8 fourth quarter.
The final score of 90–20 reflected the Pharaohs’ precision: they scored 47 points off turnovers and dominated the paint 40–6.
The Egyptian bench also delivered. Leila Eissa came off the bench to top the scoring charts with 15 points, while Joudi Elsayed added 12. Fatma Abdella and Habiba Soliman contributed 11 and 10 points respectively.
For Morocco, Fatima El Messnaoui was the only player to reach double digits, scoring 10 points.
Now that the group phase is behind them, Egypt can focus calmly on the quarter-finals. “I think all the teams are competitive. But it will be a completely different game for us, and we must correct our mistakes so we don’t repeat them,” said the coach.
Cameroon break Kenyan hearts
Cameroon secured the second quarter-final spot in Group C with a 62–43 victory over Kenya, who put up a strong fight but ultimately came up short.
The Central Africans waited until the start of the second quarter to take control, a lead they would not relinquish.
In an opening that saw the lead change hands several times, Kenya grabbed an early slim lead (9-8). However, a 13-2 run spanning the end of the first quarter and the start of the second turned the tide as Cameroon built a 14-point lead (34-20) by half-time.
Building on this momentum, Cameroon relied on their bench, who contributed 12 points in the second quarter and four more in the third, to maintain their lead. They continued to pile on the pressure despite Kenya's resistance (10–9 in Q3). The margin was significant and, while Kenya fought back in the fourth quarter (14–18), it wasn’t enough to close the gap.
Diane Aline Bienvenue came off the bench to lead the way for Cameroon with 15 points, shooting a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and 6-of-8 inside. Alongside her, Marie Messina recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Shanice Mbaha and Anouchka Malebgue added 13 and 10 points respectively.
For Kenya, Consolata Manial Oduor and Rihanna Mercy Nyalando stood out with 13 and 10 points respectively.
FIBA