Angola’s Silvio Samuel De Sousa, who was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2016 FIBA U18 Men’s Basketball Championship that ended on Sunday, believes teamwork was the key to his team’s success.
Angola’s Silvio Samuel De Sousa, who was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2016 FIBA U18 Men’s Basketball Championship that ended on Sunday, believes teamwork was the key to his team’s success.
The forward was excellent all throughout the tournament, and says his team deserved to win the tournament after defeating defending champions, Egypt 86-82 in overtime in the title game on Sunday night at Amahoro Indoor Stadium.
"We deserved to be the best. We played excellent basketball throughout this tournament, and we thoroughly deserved to win. So much hard work and long hours have gone into this team, and it is fantastic to walk away with the title,” Souse revealed after the game.
The 17-year-old centre player scored an average 12.6 points and 11 rebounds and while speaking exclusively to Times Sport, he added that working as a team was the key to their success.
"Team effort was a key that helped us achieve great performances, we played as a team without chasing individual statistics,” said the youngster, who also thanked Rwandans for their support.
The centre became the tournament’s most cheered player, as he excited the fans with dunks. He always got the fans off their seats and up in the air when he stepped on court. As usual, it was not Angola’s game if he never dunked.
The Montverde Academy (USA) forward displayed class and skill throughout the tournament, managing 42 points, in the 2-pointer field goals plus the third highest 7.6% in rebounds.
After the victory, his career high continues to become remarkable, he has played in the 2013 U16, 2014 U17 World Championship, 2016 U18 Championship, and now he will feature in the U19 FIBA World Championship, next year.
Unsurprisingly, Sousa was also named in the Team of the Tournament, where he was joined by Sano Gasana (Rwanda), Tarek Mahmoud Taafat (Egypt), Mohamed Rassil (Tunisia) and Bruno Fernandes (Angola)
TOP FIVE PLAYERS
Sano Gasana - RwandaTarek Taafat - EgyptMohamed Rassil - TunisiaSilvio Sousa - AngolaBruno Fernandes – Angola
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