Semi-final

TodayEgypt Vs DR Congo or Mali 6pmAngola Vs Tunisia 8pm

Quarter-finalsTunisia 68-51 RwandaEgypt 82-74 AlgeriaAngola 83-47 Ivory CoastGabon 74-57 Benin

Rwanda yesterday lost to Tunisia in the quarter-finals of the 2016 FIBA Africa U-18 Men’s Championships at Kigali’s Amahoro indoor stadium.

The hosts failed in their quest to reach the semifinals after succumbing to a 68-51 defeat but nonetheless received a standing ovation from their fans who were clearly excited to see coach Moise Mutokabali’s boys at the quarterfinal stage – for the first time – at the expense of the likes of Algeria.

Tunisia started the game strongly, in both offence and defence, taking a staggering 17-8 lead after just two minutes.

The first quarter ended with the North Africans controlling the board 24-13.

Thereafter, Rwanda’s Jean Nshobozwabyosenumukiza and Cadaeu de Dieu Furaha missed two three pointer attempts, two minutes into the second quarter.

Chester Kayonga nailed a three pointer seconds after coming on and the crowd found new energy to cheer but Tunisia were still leading 24-16.

Mohammed Rassil of Tunisia later nailed 11 points at the halftime break, to make it 34-28 in favour of the North Africans, who finished second at the last edition in Madagascar, behind Egypt.

After the break, the hosts pulled level at 38-38 and a minute later Kayonga dropped three back-to-back three pointers to give Rwanda a three-point lead for the first time in the game.

However, Tunisia regained control with Wassef Methnani scoring a three-pointer to tie the game 43-43 and with just three minutes to go, before visitors ran away with this one when they led by 10 points.

With two minutes left to the final whistle, Rwanda seemed to have run out of luck, and Tunisia sealed their ticket to the semi-finals with a 17 point lead.  

Kayonga was Rwanda’s highest scorer with 17 points, three rebounds and one assist, while Mohamed Rassil scored game high 18 points for Tunisia.

Meanwhile, in the first quarter-final, Angola maintained their 100% winning record in the tournament, thrashing Ivory Coast 83-47.

In the other game, which was a North Africa derby, defending champions Egypt reached the semi-finals after a hard-fought 82-74 victory over Algeria.

Three Egyptian players: Khalaf, Mostafa and Arafat scored the team’s highest 14 points each, while Algeria’s Mohamed Boussad played scored the game high 21 points.

In the classification game to decide 9-12 positions, Gabon took charge of their destiny beating Benin 74-57.

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