Mugabe reflects on his basketball career during national team service

A FORTNIGHT AGO, veteran basketball player Aristide Mugabe retired from international basketball at the age of 34, putting an end to an 11-year career with the national team. The point-guard, who currently plays for Patriots on club level, was given a standing ovation the following day as he officially bid farewell to the basketball fans in the BK Arena during the opening match of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers between hosts Rwanda and South Sudan. Mugabe’s contribution to the national team has been described by many as ‘exceptional’ and his leadership on and off the court has inspired many young basketball players who grew up looking up to him. Reflecting on his service to the national team, the point guard said he did all he could to make his country proud, a character that he says will always define him until his basketball career as a player at club level comes to an end. “I think I have done my best, with the opportunity I was given, every chance that I was given to step on the court I gave my all,” he told Times Sport. In his prime, he was one of the key players in the national team, putting up important plays on the court, and served as a captain from 2013 to 2019. He featured in three Afrobasket tournaments of 2011, 2013, and 2017. He made his last appearance with the national team in March this year during the first window of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers that was held in Dakar, Senegal in March. But what made him decide to retire from the national team? Mugabe said 11 years on the court were enough for him to pass the baton to the young generation where he finished to keep fighting for the country’s basketball pride on the international scene. The veteran revealed that it took him three years thinking of retiring from the national team until he made his final decision in June. “It took me three years. I felt that it was my time to do so, it was not an easy decision to make but it was a chapter that needed to be closed,” he said. Basketball enthusiasts could have wished to see Mugabe play more international basketball with the national team but the 34-year-old insists his retirement is a perfect timing for him as a player and as a person. “I think it was God’s timing,” he said. While he is seen by many as one the greatest basketball players the country has ever produced, Mugabe, who captained the national team between 2013 and 2019, he only has fond memories in the national team shirt for which he produced the best performances while at his peak. “My best moment? The 2011 [Afrobasket] Zone 5 qualifiers played in Kigali and 2018 in world cup qualifiers when we beat Mali twice and Uganda after a long time losing against Uganda,” Mugabe recalls. His biggest disappointment? “All the time that I was not called for the national team 2019-2021 and not making it to Afrobasket 2021,” he said. What next? Mugabe is now focused on helping his club, Patriots, win the 2022 basketball league and help the team secure a ticket to the Basketball Africa League which they played in 2021. The player didn’t rule out any possibility of switching to a coaching career when asked what the future holds for him as soon as his retirement from basketball as a player at club level is decided. “I can’t tell now, but I am still playing at club level. Coaching? Maybe, but I would like to do different things but that will help basketball growth,” he said.

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Mugabe reflects on his basketball career during national team service