Julio-Chitunda-Column
11/08/2014
Julio Chitunda's African Message
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Egypt the champions, Madagascar fans the winners

SHEFFIELD (Julio Chitunda's African Message) - Egypt proved to be too good, clinching the 2014 FIBA Africa U18 Championship - their third continental title in six years - though Malagasy fans made the difference.

Despite the tournament being played with only nine teams because of the withdrawals of defending champions Senegal, Uganda and Algeria, the showdown offered entertaining moments as rarely seen in youth competition.

Let me share with you three memorable moments that marked this year's Africa U18 Championship.

Moment 1
It is Semi-Finals day. It is that critical moment in which one naive mistake could jeopardise a team's entire campaign. Mali led Egypt by as many as 12 points with just over two minutes remaining.
 
For reasons that only Basketball Gods can explain, Mali appeared stagnant, while Egypt - clearly more focused and determined to maintain their continental dominance - bounced back to seal a 73-72 victory in the waning seconds of the game and book a place at next year's FIBA U19 World Championship.

As young Egyptians celebrated their incredible feat, young Malians tried to figure out how the game slipped away from their control. It was too late, and Mali missed out on playing at the U19 Worlds for the first time since 2007.

Moment 2
Remember Damian Lillard's three-pointer with less than a second remaining that sent the Portland Trail Blazers through to the Western Conference Semi-Finals and eliminating the Houston Rockets?

Well, Madagascar had their own as well, with the difference being that the Malagasy had just over a second left to execute the final and defining play against Mozambique.

Fans at the sellout Palais des Sports in Antananarivo reacted just like Blazers fans did as a result of a three-pointer game-winner by local hero Elly Randriamampionona, although a loss in that game would not have changed Madagascar's Group A leading position.

Nevertheless, euphoric local fans entered, not only the country's basketball annals, but clearly to the history of African youth competitions.

In a matter of the hours, a YouTube video showing Randriamampionona's game-winner went viral with Malagasy fans sharing, discussing and debating the team's potential.

Moment 3
The Angolans destroy the host nation's dream in the Quarter-Finals, leaving players and home fans distraught, although they finished with an encouraging 5-1 record, which included two wins over Mozambique followed by triumphs over Mali, Cote d'Ivoire and Benin.

Meanwhile, when it came to decide the tournament's top performers, it was difficult to please everybody.

If there was a player I hoped to see in the All-Tournament Team, regardless of any outcome, it was Tunisia's Achref Gannoni, a highly-skilled 17-year-old guard who returned to Madagascar after leading all scorers at the 2013 FIBA Africa U16 Championship.

Gannoni showed up with an impressive leadership role, as well as an improved ability to attack the rim.

Nevertheless, he was left out of the top five performers, which included Yann Rakotomalala (Madagascar), Gerson Domingos (Angola), Mohamed Karaboue (Cote d'Ivoire), Sagaba Konate (Mali) and Ahmed Mohamed (Egypt).

Judging by what he did, if Gannoni continues to play at such a level, he could become not only a player to watch at the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship, but also a future role player for his country senior team, the hosts of next year's AfroBasket.

Then, there's Gerson Domingos of Angola.

Despite his young age, Domingos has been rated as one of the most talented point guard of his generation.

Over the course of the eight-day tournament, the 17-year-old - who plays for Luanda-based Vila Clotilde and was one of the highlights at the 2013 Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa camp - left his mark with astonishing offensive plays.

As a result, of his high-tempo and basketball mind, the 1.85m playmaker who averaged 18.8 points per game was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament.

Madagascar may have not won the continental title, but, in the end, home fans were the real winners, showing an incredible dedication, not only to the national team, but also to the game of basketball by attending at record numbers.

Therefore, as a top African basketball official told me prior to this event, the real success of junior tournaments is to give top prospects an opportunity to learn the game on international field.

Thus, Egypt U18 clinched their third continental title and should be credited for the achievement.

Julio Chitunda

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

FIBA takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.

Julio Chitunda

Julio Chitunda

Julio Chitunda, a University of Sheffield alumni and former semi-professional player, has worked for a number of Portuguese media outlets as well as The Press Association and covered international basketball for over a decade. Through his column, he offers an insight into basketball on the world's second biggest continent.