It has been six days of gruelling proup phase games in the 2023 FIBA U16 African Championship in the coastal city of Monastir, Tunisia with some young folks having outstanding performances for their teams. Save for host Tunisia that lost all its games, the other nine teams recorded at least a win. The players have showed great potential, displaying dexterity, great basketball basics and a hunger to be at their best. ALSO READ: FIBA U16 Championship: Rwanda, Egypt square off in boys’ quarter-finals Times Sport takes a close look at some of the players who stood out in the group stages Sean Williams (Rwanda) On the court, the Rwanda U16 boys skipper is a team leader who knows what is expected of him. He is one player that coach Patrick Habiyaremye counts on to make a difference for the team. With a total of 80 points to his credit, Mwesigwa led the court twice in four games with game highs of 34 points against host Tunisia and 21 points against Cote d'Ivoire. He is a team player and distributes the ball well on the court. His team went into the quarter-finals on a 2-2 record and will face Egypt on Thursday. ALSO READ:WATCH: Rwanda book ticket to last eight round after Côte d'Ivoire victory Tejan Joel Rugette (Uganda) At just 15, Tejan is practically a one-man army. He is never scared of the opposition and would go headlong into the fray to get results for his team. As a point guard, he gives direction to his team and often would carry the fight to his opponent exhibiting his skills to the admiration of the fans. He and his teammates were greatly disadvantaged by their number as only eight of them made the trip and had to play for an average of 20 minutes each. As determined as they were, Tejan was on the lips of his coaches and supporters. He led Uganda to a win over Morocco leading the floor with a game high double-double 35 points amd 10 rebounds. The youngster averaged 27.8 points and 35 minutes in four games. Nour Gassim Toure (Guinea) On the Guinea team, the player that often catches the attention of all is captain Araphane Diane because of his size and dunks when the opportunity comes his way. But the go-to-go player is 14-year-old shooting guard Nour Gassim Toure who has been the driving force for Guinea. His lowest score in any game was 9 points and that was against Uganda which ended 100-52. His average in other games is 20 points. He has an accumulated a whopping 88 points in 4 games. Toure has been a silent finisher on the Guinean side and promises to do more for his side en route to the championship. Aristide Allaramadji (Chad) Chad paraded an inexperienced team and coach Belemgote Mdoumbe who also led Chad back in the 2021 edition of this championship in Cairo admits that much. Almost at the verge of tears, he sees his players do the direct opposite of the instructions passed to them but one shinning star in the team remains Aristide Allaranmadji. He is a guard on the team but with plenty of confidence to get to the opponent's basket. In four games, he scored a total of 82 points with an average of 20.5 per game. In the team's first game against Uganda, Allaranmadji could only muster 11 points as Mahamat Aka Ousmane and Guimdar Ferguson Tamonkam took the spotlight. The next game against Morocco was a far departure from his first outing as he practically carried Chad all the way to a 90-86 win. In the game against Guinea, he scored 12 points but instead decided to give his teammates passes to do the scoring. However, in the game against Egypt, he was in his elements again with a game high 30 points that helped push the goals differential against Uganda for Chad to advance.
