Patriots captain Aristide Mugabe has been recalled to the national basketball team after three years. The veteran shooting guard is part of an 18-man provisional squad that head coach Cheikh Sarr has called up to prepare for the upcoming African Basketball Championships (Afrobasket) finals scheduled to take place in Kigali in August. Mugabe, 33, last appeared in the national team colours in 2018 during the second round of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers. Coach Sarr might have been compelled to include him in the Afrobasket squad due to the good performance he put up during the Basketball Africa League that took place in May, where he was instrumental as his team, Patriots reached the semi-finals of the tournament. Through the years, Mugabe has been a serious powerhouse in Rwanda’s topflight basketball, having made his debut with Rusizi Basketball Club in 2007. He has previously featured for Espoir from 2009 until 2015, before he joined Patriots. The squad started non-residential training today. Times Sport understands that for now, the national team will be handled by Assistant coaches Henry Mwinuka and Yves Murenzi, since head coach Cheikh Sarr is concentrating on the women’s team which will be participating in the qualifiers of the Women’s Afrobasket tournament that gets underway on Monday, July 12. The men’s Afrobasket tournament is scheduled for August 4 to September 5. Hosts Rwanda were placed in Group A alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, and one more team that will advance from Group E qualifiers. Provisional squad: Ntore Habimana, Aristide Mugabe, Sagamba Sedar, Jean Jacques, Wilson Nshobozwabyosenumukiza, Steven Hagumintwari, Sangwe Armel, Gitore Rutazingwa, Axel Mpoyo, Kazeneza Emile Galois, Honore Niyongira, Nkusi Arnaud, Kaje Elie, Dieudonné Ndayisaba Ndizeye, Olivier Shyaka, Marius Trésor Ntwari, Elias Ngoga and WIliam Robeyins.
