Cote d’Ivoire’s Jean-Philippe Oka was named the FIBA men’s U16 Most Valuable Player (MVP), having delivered consistently across all games and filling the stat sheet with an average of 16.2 points, 12 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.8 assists, while guiding Côte d’Ivoire to an unbeaten run and the championship title. The 16-year-old Abidjan boy also headlined the All-Tournament Team, alongside his Ivorian teammate Iréné Ouedraogo and Nolan Ngangmeni and Olivier Ngoumou, both from runners-up Cameroon, as well as Bakary Ballo from Mali who finished in third place. ALSO READ: Côte d’Ivoire crowned men’s U16 AfroBasket champions While hosts Rwanda were presented with the fair play award, additional individual accolades highlighted the depth of talent displayed during the youth basketball tournament which ran throughout two weeks in Kigali. Olivier Ngoumou, a dominant force in the paint, was honoured with the award for the tournament’s top rebounder, having grabbed 80 rebounds while Nolan Ngangmeni was named the best three-point shooter, showcasing remarkable accuracy from beyond the arc with 15 shots made. Finally, the trophy for the tournament’s top scorer was handed to Jean-Philippe Oka, who consistently found ways to put points on the board, finishing with 99.
