Rwanda’s national basketball team Head coach Serbian head coach Vladimir Bosnjak is confident his team can navigate through Group D FIBA AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers. Rwanda was pooled alongside Nigeria, Mali while the fourth team will be determined between the winner of Zones 1 and 2. The Serbian coach told Times Sports that there is plenty of time for the team to scout their opponents and prepare thoroughly for the qualifiers which start in February. “We have a chance because our biggest clubs like Patriots are in different competitions until next year which will give them match fitness and experience, something that will give an edge,” Bosnjak said. Seven zones will play Pre-Qualifiers in five groups in January 2020 across the continent with the five winners progressing to the next stage of the qualification process where they will join the 15 teams that took part in the FIBA AfroBasket 2017 in Senegal and Tunisia. These 15 teams that have automatically made it to this stage include Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tunisia and Uganda. The 20 teams that will take part in the qualification process found out their opponents for the start of the Pre-Qualifying campaign for the next edition of FIBA Africa’s flagship event. Three groups will play from February 17-25, 2020 with the other two starting their campaign in the next window from November 23 - December 1, 2020 at venues yet to be determined. All the five groups will then play in the Final Phase from February 15-23, 2021 with the top three teams from each group over the two legs qualifying automatically to the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 to be held in Rwanda. The teams were drawn into five groups of four teams each as follows: Group A: Tunisia, Central African Republic and DR Congo Group B: Senegal, Angola and Mozambique Group C: Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea. Group D: Nigeria, Mali and Rwanda Group E: Morocco, Egypt and Uganda.
