KIGALI (Rwanda) - Tunisia and Egypt made a strong statement in their 2025 FIBA U16 AfroBasket debut in Kigali.
On Tuesday, Tunisia played far better than the team that finished 1-4 at home two years ago, defeating the reigning champions, Guinea, in a Group B clash.
Later in the day, Egypt found themselves trailing by seven points, but turned their fortunes around to start their Group C campaign with a win.
FIBA.basketball recaps what happened on Game Day 2 in Kigali.
Tunisia prove too much for reigning champions Guinea
Tunisia proved themselves to be true contenders in Group B by controlling the game from tip-off to the final buzzer, making life difficult for Guinea.
They dominated every aspect of the game, claiming a 64-46 victory over the reigning champions.
Guinea couldn’t get past Tunisia.
Too many missed shots and turnovers compromised Guinea’s chances of overtaking Tunisia, while the North Africans secured the win much earlier in the game.
The Guineans entered the court with plenty of energy. However, they were quickly outscored by Tunisia.
Rafrafi added eight points and, combined with Youssef Kalel's seven, gave the Carthage Eagles a 12-point lead (35–23) at half-time.
“It was a team effort, and it’s something we need to keep doing if we want to keep winning,” Rafrafi told FIBA.basketball.
Guinea’s efforts only reduced the gap by five points ahead of the final stretch. Tunisia’s captain added another six points to reach a total of 29, finishing just one rebound short of a double-double.
Youssef Kalel, on the other hand, reached double figures in both scoring and rebounding with 10 points and 15 rebounds.
Reflecting on the game, the Tunisian captain explained that they had capitalised on Guinea’s mistakes. Tunisia scored 27 points from turnovers and 35 from fast breaks.
“It’s the game. There are good and bad percentages. And we used the good ones to our advantage”, Rafrafi added.
Egypt resist Morocco scare and claim a 10-point win
Egypt and Morrocco gave each over a good run for their money, took the game to the wire, before the Pharaos prevailed 77-67.
The Egyptians entered the court determined to show that they could pace the game. And they were off to a 13-4 run in the initial five minutes. But Morocco fought back for the first time, and made it back within touching distance, trailing only by one point (17-16) by the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter saw the two teams level up, once at 22-22, then 31-31 heading into halftime. At this point, it became anyone’s game.
But a defensive surge from Egypt compromised Morocco’s dreams of victory. “After half-time, we decided to defend more aggressively”, said Omar Khataby, who lead Egypt both in scoring and rebounding with 20 points and 13 rebounds.
This shows in Egypt’s defensive rebounds, as they grabbed 37 units from their end, limiting Morocco’s second-chance points.
On the other side of the court, they managed 26 offensive rebounds, and scoring 16 points off se
Egypt created a seven-point gap (39-32), and headed into the fourth quarter leading 55-45.
Morocco seemed unaffected by the 10-point gap, and clawed their way back, until they trailed by only four points. But Egypt kept scoring and ended the game with a 10-0 run, to claim a 77-67 win.
They will face Liberia in their next encounter on Sunday, before meeting with arch-rivals Mali next week.
FIBA