Sunday, February 16

Rwanda 75-89 Morocco

Rwanda on Sunday, February 16, suffered to a 75-89 defeat at the hands Morocco in the pair’s first warm-up match preparing for the upcoming Afrobasket qualifiers in Rabat from February 21-23.

The game took place at the Bouazzaoui Sale court in Rabat.

Morocco, who will host Groups A and C of the qualifying window, won the first quarter 21-14 but Rwanda regrouped to claim the second quarter 21-20, although they were still trailing 35-41 at the break.

Back in the second half, Cheikh Sarr’s side claimed the third quarter 27-23 to narrow Morocco’s lead to just two points before the hosts came back strong to dominate the final quarter 25-13 and bag the win.

Power forward William Robeyns was Rwanda’s scorer with a team high 16 points. The two teams return to action for the second build up game on Tuesday, February 18.

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Morocco will host both Group A and C qualifiers. The hosts are pooled in Group A alongside Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, while Group C comprises Senegal, Cameroon, Gabon and Rwanda.

The top three teams from each group will earn tickets to AfroBasket 2025.

Each of the 20 national teams vying for a place at the 2025 AfroBasket has played at least three games in the two previous qualifying windows.

Rwanda secured only one win in the second window of the qualifiers held in Dakar, Senegal, in November 2024, defeating Gabon 90-63 in Group C. The victory kept their qualification hopes alive after they suffered a major setback after losing two consecutive games against Senegal and Cameroon.