Rukinzo VC have been eliminated from the ongoing 47th African Men’s Club Championship in Kigali after suffering a third consecutive group stage defeat on Saturday. The Burundian champions fell 3-1 to Cameroon’s Port Autonome de Douala (25-22, 23-25, 21-25, 15-25), becoming the first team to miss out on a place in the Round of 16. Rukinzo, making debut appearance at the continental tournament, had already lost to Senegal’s Kalibi Sporting Club and Rwanda Energy Group (REG) in their earlier Group D matches. Despite a bright start against Douala—taking the opening set 25-22—Rukinzo failed to sustain their momentum. The second set was closely contested, but costly defensive lapses saw them edged out 25-23. Douala then took full control of the match, comfortably winning the third and fourth sets 25-21 and 25-15 respectively to seal victory. “We came here to learn from more experienced clubs since it’s our first participation,” said head coach Jean Marie Gahungu. “We still have matches to play, and we will aim to finish in a respectable position.” With three losses from three matches, Rukinzo can no longer qualify for the knockout stage. Their highest possible finish is now 17th place, which they can achieve by winning their classification matches in the 17–24 bracket. Rukinzo will next face Kenya’s General Service Unit (GSU) and Cape Verde’s Atlético Clube do Mindelo in their remaining group fixtures. Elsewhere, Uganda’s Sport-S are also facing early elimination after a straight-sets defeat (25-21, 25-10, 25-22) to Egyptian powerhouse Al Ahly in Group B. The competition continues later this Saturday, with teams battling to secure favourable positions ahead of the knockout stages. Saturday Fixtures Group A Petrojet vs Nigeria Customs – 8pm (Petit Stade) Black Rhinos vs Litto Team – 6pm (Petit Stade) Nemo Stars vs APR VC – 8pm (BK Arena) Group B Cameroon Sports vs Kepler VC – 6pm (BK Arena) Group C Ghana Army vs Kenya Ports Authority – 10pm (Petit Stade) Group D REG VC vs General Service Unit – 4pm (BK Arena)
