The Mali U-16 women’s basketball team have qualified for the World U17 Championships next year after winning the FIBA U-16 Women African Championship title on Saturday night at the Amahoro Indoor Stadium. Mali beat Egypt in the final game 84-48 to win their sixth FIBA U16 Women’s African Championship title. By finishing as the top two teams, Mali and Egypt secured tickets to the FIBA U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup slated for 2020. Mariam Coulibaly scored a game-high 30 points, picked seven rebounds and five assists to inspire the West Africans to an unprecedented record sixth African title. Her teammates Maimouna Haidara who is also the captain and Djelika Tounkara added 16 points and 14 points in that order. On the other hand, Lojain Elfatairy netted 19 points and picked six rebounds while Aya Elfiky picked 12 rebounds and scored 11 points but this was not enough to guide Egypt to their first African title. Mariam Coulibaly was named as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament headlining the All Star Five and was joined by Sara Caetano (Angola), Maimouna Haidara (Mali), Malak Sadek (Egypt), and Maria Najjuma (Uganda). Meanwhile, Angola defeated Mozambique 67-59 in the third-placed game. Rwanda finished in six position after losing 51 – 66 to Uganda. Final Standing of the FIBA U16 African Championship 2019: 1.Mali 2.Egypt 3. Angola 4.Mozambique 5.Uganda 6.Rwanda 7.Tanzania. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
