KIGALI (Rwanda) – Reigning champions Mali took a huge step towards reaching the elimination round of the 2025 FIBA Women’s U16 AfroBasket tournament after fending off Côte d'Ivoire.
Meanwhile, Angola bounced back with a convincing win over Guinea, putting themselves back in contention for the quarter-finals.
Below is a review of Game-Day 5 of this year's U16 Women's AfroBasket.
Mali remain perfect
Reigning champions Mali improved their record to 2–0 after convincingly defeating Côte d'Ivoire 65–38 in one of Saturday's two games.
Chasing a remarkable ninth consecutive continental title, Mali had to work hard early on before stamping their authority on the contest.
The opening quarter saw Côte d'Ivoire match the champions point for point, with the first 10 minutes ending in a tie at 11–11. However, Mali gradually found their rhythm, pulling ahead to a nine-point lead at half-time (31–22).
From there, the Eagles never looked back. They exploded in the third quarter with a 25-12 run, widening the gap beyond reach, and closed the game with a 9-4 run to secure a comfortable victory.
Despite committing 26 fouls — compared to Côte d’Ivoire's 29 — Mali dominated most of the statistical categories. They dominated the boards (66 to 61), forced more turnovers (28 compared to Côte d’Ivoire’s 47) and thrived on defence, making an impressive 29 steals compared to their opponents' 12.
Their bench also outperformed Côte d’Ivoire’s, contributing 21 valuable points.
Awa Keita was the standout performer, leading Mali with 24 points and 6 rebounds. She was well supported by Mariya Diawara, who contributed 19 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
Layla Diarisso was the only Côte d’Ivoire player to reach double figures, finishing with 12 points and 7 rebounds, but this was not enough to tip the balance in their favour.
With two wins under their belt, Mali continue to demonstrate why they are the competition's benchmark, though their performance also revealed areas they will look to fine-tune as the knockout stages approach.
Angola overpower Guinea
Both Angola and Guinea were in desperate need of a win when they stepped onto the court.
Ultimately, Angola emerged victorious, claiming a commanding 67-31 victory in a game that featured only two lead changes.
Guinea briefly took the lead at 4-2, but Angola responded swiftly with a series of baskets to establish a six-point advantage midway through the first quarter. The Guineans showed resilience to close the gap to 17–16, but were unable to take the lead again.
The second quarter proved decisive, with Angola stringing together an 11-6 run to enter the interval with a 28-22 lead.
They extended their lead in the third quarter with another 16-5 surge and went into the final period with a comfortable lead of 44-27.
The fourth quarter was one-way traffic. Angola tightened their grip, closing the contest with a dominant 23-4 run to secure a 67-31 victory.
Ana Neto was the top scorer with 17 points in just over 31 minutes on the court, while captain Luisa Servico contributed 14 points and 3 rebounds. Sonia Urica also contributed 13 points and 6 rebounds.
Statistically, Angola were in complete control. They forced Guinea into turnovers and capitalised on them to score 33 points, dominated the paint to score 34 points, and got 10 points from their bench.
By contrast, Guinea managed only 12 points from turnovers, 24 in the paint and two from their reserves.
Angola must now turn their focus to Tuesday’s match against Côte d'Ivoire, which could be crucial for their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.
FIBA