Africa-Press – Rwanda. Tuesday, September 3
Group B
Tunisia 64-46 Guinea
Group C
Egypt 77-67 Morocco
The 2025 FIBA U16 AfroBasket in Kigali on Wednesday, September 3, delivered drama and surprises, with both Tunisia and Egypt stamping their authority early.
Tunisia, eager to erase memories of their 1-4 home record two years ago, stunned defending champions Guinea in a Group B matchup.
Egypt, meanwhile, overcame a shaky start and a seven-point deficit to launch their Group C journey on a winning note.
Tunisia proved themselves to be true contenders in Group B by controlling the game from tip-off to the last minute, 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.
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.
Kalel, on the other hand, reached double figures in both scoring and rebounding with 10 points and 15 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Egypt and Morocco gave each other 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.
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.
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.
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