RABAT - FIBA Africa is mourning the loss of Boujemaa Jdaini Larguet, who passed away on Friday, April 22nd in Rabat, Morocco after battling an illness. 

Mr Larguet, commonly known as Boujemaa in basketball circles,  was the last living founding father of the Association of African Basketball Federation (AFABA), which was later renamed FIBA Africa. 

Back in the 1961, Boujemaa integrated a delegation of African officials who launched the creation of the continent's basketball governing body in Cairo, Egypt. 

During his playing time, Boujemaa played for Mouloudia in Oujda and, later in his career, he coached KAC in Kenitra.

Boujemaa  enjoyed a successful basketball, a journey that led him to become vice-president of the Royal Moroccan Basketball Association.

He has dedicated more than fifty years of his life to the game of basketball in Africa, and, at some point in his career, he was a member of FIBA Africa's Executive Committee and Central Board.

In a statement, FIBA Africa acknowledged that Boujemaa was one of the pioneers of basketball in Africa and a passionate activist for the development of the discipline on the continent. His favourite field was, without a doubt, the training of referees, for which he chaired the African commission for decades.

"We lost the last pioneer of our sports' organisation," the statement read. "His commitment, his constant quest for excellence and his expertise have undoubtedly contributed to the progress of the game in Africa. On behalf of all of you, we thank Mr. Boujemaa for his remarkable work and for the dynamism and efficiency he has instilled in FIBA ​​Africa."

Boujema wrote a book titled "If FIBA ​​Africa was told to me", which reflects the great moments of the progress of basketball in Africa, from 1961 to 2011. 

"With his disappearance, FIBA ​​Africa lost a pioneer and one of its last founding members," the statement read.

Boujemaa Jdaini Larguet was 91-years-old.

FIBA