Paynesville, Montserrado County – Liberia defeated Benin twice in a row on Wednesday at the Samuel Kanyon Doe (SKD) Gymnasium to wrap off their campaign in the FIBA Africa Zone 3 Under-16 Boys and Girls Afrobasket Qualifiers.
In the tournament’s last game, the Liberian U16 girls team defeated Benin 47-44, marking their first victory. This was the sole victory for Liberia in four games, despite a fiercely contested campaign. After a run of hard defeats, the narrow three-point win was a welcome conclusion.
With a dominant effort, Liberia defeated Benin 87-35 in the boys’ division. They had defeated the same opponent in each of their competition victories. The Liberian boys placed second in the group rankings after finishing with two victories and two defeats.
Ivory Coast finished the qualifications undefeated, establishing themselves as the dominant power in both the boys’ and girls’ categories. They qualified automatically for the 2025 FIBA U16 African Championship in Kigali, Rwanda, due to their outstanding performance.
Final Standings – Boys’ Category
- Ivory Coast
Played: 4 | Won: 4 | Lost: 0
Points: 8
Game Points Scored: 329
Game Points Conceded: 153
Point Difference: +176
- Liberia
Played: 4 | Won: 2 | Lost: 2
Points: 6
Game Points Scored: 295
Game Points Conceded: 205
Point Difference: +89
- Benin
Played: 4 | Won: 0 | Lost: 4
Points: 4
Game Points Scored: 115
Game Points Conceded: 284
Point Difference: -169
Final Standings – Girls’ Category
- Ivory Coast
Played: 4 | Won: 4 | Lost: 0
Points: 8
Game Points Scored: 293
Game Points Conceded: 163
Point Difference: +130
- Benin
Played: 4 | Won: 1 | Lost: 3
Points: 5
Game Points Scored: 176
Game Points Conceded: 244
Point Difference: -68
- Liberia
Played: 4 | Won: 1 | Lost: 3
Points: 5
Game Points Scored: 178
Game Points Conceded: 240
Point Difference: -62
Liberia’s impressive performance shows tremendous promise in the development of young basketball players, even though they could not make it to the continental finals. While the ladies’ team showed resiliency and progress throughout the competition, the boys’ team showed potential, especially in their attacking execution.
Ivory Coast will compete in the 2025 Afrobasket U16 Championship in Kigali as Zone 3’s representative in both the boys’ and girls’ divisions.
Reported by: Sylvester Tamba
