Rwandan shooting guard Sean Mwesigwa was among individual accolade winners at the 2024 FIBA U18 AfroBasket which concluded in Pretoria, South Africa, on Saturday, September 14. The 17-year-old, who is based in the United States, claimed both the Best Scorer and Best Three-Point Shooter awards after averaging 20.7 points per game and helping the team reach the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Youssouf Mamba Traore was named tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) after helping Mali beat resilient Cameroon 65-51 in the final to lift the U18 AfroBasket 2024 trophy. To record his sixth straight double-double in the title game was the culmination of a stellar FIBA U18 AfroBasket 2024 campaign for the Malian prodigy. Besides, the 17-year-old also leads tournament’s All-Star team, joined by a host of Africa's promising stars that stood out in South Africa. Here's how the All-Star Team came about: Youssouf Mamba Traore-Mali Traore always delivered when Mali needed him most. He handed his country a third African title, and the first since 2020 when they lifted it in Cairo, Egypt. In the tightly-contested title game against a resilient Cameroon team, Traore recorded a 4-8 shooting to finish with 15 points, while grabbing 14 rebounds and contributing 4 assists. He averaged 12.8 points and 16.2 rebounds in six games. Amadou Seini – Cameroon The 2.13m center was one of the reasons why Cameroon had an admirable campaign. His 11 points, 13 rebounds and 4 block shots in the Championship Game against Mali were a clear illustration of his consistent display over the six games. Bar his performance against Côte d'Ivoire (9 points and 16 rebounds), Seini finished with 5 double-doubles in six games. He led Cameroon with averages of 12 points, 16 rebounds while registering a tournament-high of 4 blocks per game. Sekou Bagayoko – Mali The other Mali player to score in double digits (12 points) in the final versus Cameroon, Bagayoko averaged 15 points per game while being Mali's primary playmaker. Rayane Solhi – Morocco The second leading scorer in the tournament with 18 points per game, Solhi was Morocco's go-to throughout the tournament. In addition to his 18.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, Solhi recorded a tournament-high 35.8 minutes per game alongside Rwanda's Dylan Kayijuka. Aginaldo Neto – Angola Angola's Neto said farewell to the Championship with a 72-69 loss to Egypt, but he reminded everyone why he is a player worth watching. The NBA Academy Africa top prospect averaged 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. Mali's Youssouf Traore was the tournament's best rebounders with 16.2 rebounds per contest.
