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. ALSO READ: Afrobasket 2025: Rwanda lose against DR Congo in second game Early in the game, the Cape Verdeans led 9-0, with Rwanda showing no sign of containing their opponents' 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.
