Group A

Rwanda 62-75 Cape Verde

Rwanda's chances of qualifying for the 2025 Afrobasket knockout stage were brought to a shocking end by Cape Verde who beat then 75-62 in their final Group A game on Sunday, in Namibe.

Victory against Cape Verde was all that Rwanda needed to book a slot to the last eight of the tournament but they were instead sent packing without a single win, after losikg all three matches in the group stage.

Cape Verde took the floor with a sense of urgency, disrupting every one of Rwanda's attempts to attack.

Patrick Lima opened the scoring with a three-pointer, foreshadowing what was to come for Cape Verde, who eventually shot 9-for-28 from deep.

Lima's three-pointer came after a block shot from Edy Tavares, who finished with three swats.

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Early in the game, the Cape Verdeans led 9-0, with Rwanda showing no sign of containing their opponents&039; dominance.

Cheikh Sarr's men trailed 16-2 in the opening quarter. They then mounted a short-lived comeback in the second quarter, finishing just eight points behind at halftime with the score at 37-29.

Rwanda were down 61-41 at the end of the third quarter (12-24) and it seemed too late for the like of Ntore Habimana and his teammates to stage a comeback depsite winning the last quarter 21-14.

Cape Verde will not know their position in Group A until after Sunday's later game between Côte d'Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It was the islanders' second win in three Group A games. Meanwhile, Rwanda joined three other teams — Madagascar, Uganda, and Libya — who were eliminated after the group phase.