PHOENIX(FIBA U16 African Championship 2017) – The final of the FIBA Africa U16 Championship, on Saturday, July 22, in Mauritius, is becoming more and more of a classic of the continental tournament.

The last time the two teams matched in a final, in 2015, Egypt emerged as winners, coming to terms with host country Mali in the last seconds of the game.

Mali seeking revenge, Egypt seeking fourth title could have been a hit in the movies, but this is what this final is all about : revenge and titles.

64-63 : this was the score the last time these two met in the finals. Ironically, Mali were on home ground and they lost in the ultimate seconds of the game. “We still remember it. And we don’t want it to happen again”, says playmaker Siriman Kanoute.

Well, Mali winning the tournament in Mauritius would be history in the making. Mali have, in fact, won every possible title in the women’s event. But nothing on the men’s side. “This is something we want to correc,” Kanoute explained.

Egypt, on the other side, has been square and fair in their games. Coach Fady Hany’s side inspired respect and awe when they are on the pitch, leaving little or no margin for errors and taking on every opponent presented to them. “We are chasing our fourth FIBA U16 African Championship title.”

With three trophies - and one Second-Place finish - under their belt, Egypt emerge as the real continental powerhouse. Stats don’t lie. And Egypt are great at keeping and take care of them. This is literally seen in their head to head, where they are above Mali in four out of six compartments of the game.

They dominate assists (17,9 against 16 ,1). They score on two points field goals 56 % of the time while Mali is only at 52,65, have a 27% success at three-pointers against Mali’s 24% and score 59% of the time on free throws, while their opponents are stuck on 53, 7 %.

While the cold, logical and numerical thinking might be good, Egypt must be on the lookout for Mali’s revenge. And this time, neither Mali, nor Egypt would want to wait for the last minute to secure their victory.

FIBA