A hard-fought 47-45 victory over Nigeria was not enough for Ghana’s male Under-16 basketball team as they missed out on qualification to the 2023 FIBA Under-16 African Championship.

After a heartbreaking defeat to Ivory Coast in their opening game, the young ballers bounced back with an impressively shocking victory over Nigerians.

The victory was however not enough to earn Ghana a place in the competition as Nigeria sailed through on a superior goal difference.

At the end of the three-day event that took place at the Eden Heights Sports Complex in the capital city of Ghana, Accra, Nigeria who defeated Ivory Coast 67-38 in their opening game grabbed the ticket to the tournament at the expense of Ghana.

Ghana’s team who were impressive in both games played in the round-robbing tournament were unfortunate as they were undone by a 65-68 defeat in overtime to Ivory Coast.

Like Ghana, the Ivorians will also have to watch the tournament from home due to their heavy defeat to powerhouse Nigeria.

In the Girl’s category, successive defeats to Nigeria and Ivory Coast meant that Ghana finished bottom of the three-team competition.

Like they did in the male division, the Nigerians also grabbed the female tickets and will participate in the FIBA Africa World Qualifiers scheduled for Tunisia.

Despite Ghana’s failure to qualify for the championship, officials of the Ghana Basketball Federation believe that the experience garnered will aid the development of the players.