For its fifth appearance, Rwanda’s U-18 national team will join a pool of 10 national teams across the continent to contest for the sport’s top prize in Africa. The tournament commonly referred to as Afrobasket is slated to run from August 4 through 14 in Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo. Rwanda ascends to the tournament as champions of FIBA Africa Zone 5 after they grabbed the sole ticket at the expense of Tanzania and Uganda in an impressive fashion. The youngsters claimed the title of the biennial regional tournament after a 84-49 blowout of Tanzania in their final game. If the performance is anything to go by, the team is proving to target a podium finish, but all the work is not cut. In particular, the team will have to lock horns with continental powerhouses including reigning champions Mali. Other teams include Egypt, Senegal, Guinea, Benin, Tanzania as well as host Madagascar. Guided by Rwanda’s tactician Yves Murenzi, who also doubles as the head coach of top flight out fit, United Generation Basketball (UGB) since 2013. Here is a closer look at the team profile. FIBA Ranking The latest FIBA rankings put Rwanda’s U-18 national at the 51st spot globally but 9th in Africa. This is attributed to the growing culture of the game in the country. Rwanda in recent times has become the hub of African basketball. Several major tournaments have been hosted in the country from BAL, Afrobasket to FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers. Participation in FIBA U-18 Africa Championship It has been five years since the national team contested in the same tournament. In 2018, the team finished in 6th place. The appearance followed another impressive performance in 2016 as the 5th top team. Qualification to 2022 FIBA U18 African Championship Rwanda secured this year’s FIBA U18 African Championship by emerging winners of the Zone 5 qualifiers. The country has qualified for their fifth FIBA U18 African Championship appearances. The others were in 2010, 2012, 2016 and 2018. Rwanda hosted the 2016 edition of the tournament. Player to watch out for Dick Rutatika Sano was crowned the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament in a two-legged round-robin format played in Kampala. The team captain, Sano, will be one of the stars to look out for given his performance in the qualifiers. He alongside Ghislain Nubaha contributed a combined 19 points each. In 2019, he featured for the Rwanda U-16 team in Cape Verde where his team finished 5th place.
