RSSB Tigers captain Antino Jackson has called on Rwandan fans living in China to rally behind the team when the BAL champions begin their FIBA Intercontinental Cup campaign against Lithuania’s Rytas Vilnius at Beijing Indoor Stadium on Tuesday. The Group A encounter will tip off at 9:30am Kigali time. Speaking at a press conference ahead of the game, Jackson said the team had already noticed a strong presence of Rwandan supporters following their arrival in China. “As we got off the plane, there were a lot of Rwandan fans here, and I think they are going to be in the arena cheering us on tomorrow. We are going to play hard and do our best to try to raise the trophy,” he said. Rytas targeting title Rytas captain Arturas Gudaitis said his team also has its sights set on going all the way in the six-team tournament. “Part of me and everybody on the team want to lift the trophy,” Gudaitis said. The six participating teams have been divided into two groups, with the top two from each group advancing to the semi-finals. The teams finishing third in each group will meet in the fifth-place playoff on September 26. The semi-finals will be followed by the third-place and championship games on September 27, when the 2026 Intercontinental Cup champions will be crowned. The tournament tips off on Tuesday, September 22, with two games scheduled each day during the opening three days. Friday will be a rest day before three games are played on Saturday, followed by the third-place playoff and final on Sunday. RSSB Tigers enter the competition as Africa’s representatives after winning the 2026 Basketball Africa League title on their debut. The Intercontinental Cup has historically been dominated by European clubs. Since 1966, European teams have won 24 titles and finished runners-up 16 times. Spanish clubs account for 12 of those titles, with Real Madrid the competition’s most successful team after winning five trophies. Teams from the Americas have won 10 titles, including six by FIBA Americas teams, three by NABC teams and one by an NCAA team, the Maryland Terrapins, in 1974. Of the countries represented in this year’s tournament, the United States, Lithuania and Argentina have previously produced Intercontinental Cup champions. Three different US teams have won the competition, while Lithuania’s Zalgiris Kaunas claimed the title in 1986 and Argentina’s Obras Sanitarias finished top in 1983. African and Asian teams have never won the Intercontinental Cup or finished higher than third. Both continents recorded their best finishes in the past three years following the introduction of the six-team format.
