Rwanda’s women basketball team coach Cheikh Sarr insists that hosting the 2023 FIBA Women’s Afrobasket won’t guarantee a home advantage for his side. The much-anticipated championship tips off on Friday, July 28, and will run until Saturday, August 6, bringing together 12 national basketball teams from across Africa to showcase the finest talents in women's basketball. The teams convene in the country getting ready to rub shoulders at BK Arena in a weeklong basketball show which will leave the best team crowned queens of African women basketball. Rwanda will begin their quest for the coveted championship against Group A rivals Cote d’Ivoire on July 28 before taking on Angola in the second game slated for July 30. Both games will take place at 6pm. The team will be looking to fight for glory before the home supporters and, while one would think that the home court is an absolute advantage to the team, Sarr indicated that it is rather a two-sided truth. Rwanda's performance at the tournament will mostly rely on how they prepared for it. Of course, this is home, their families are here, and so they are optimistic because they have all the support they need,” he said. “On the other side, you can see they are pushing themselves for more, the tension and the pressure is higher because everybody expects them to come through since they are at home, he noted. Rwanda skipper Charlotte Nzayisenga said that she and her teammates have a tough task to avoid deceiving Rwandans who are expected to turn up in big numbers to support the team. For her, a home advantage is a test that Rwanda has to pass, no matter what, and leave all they have on the court till the last second. The home court is definitely a bar set high on its own. Our people will be watching us, and we don't want to fail them, so we're doing everything we can. But one thing is certain, she continued, the girls are focused, and we are prepared to fight for victory. None of the 12 countries frighten us; we are ready to face our opponents, she said. The Women’s Afrobasket has been a top priority for Sarr to the extent that he left the men’s team to Charles Mushumba and Yves Murenzi for the AfroCAN Zone V qualifiers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and finals in Luanda, Angola, respectively. I wanted to focus solely on the women's team because we had a lot of work to do; building the team's physicality, shooting capabilities and optimizing their structure, as well as refining the point guard's skills, boosting the guard's performance, and for everybody to know their role,” said the Senegalese coach. “We did some qualifiers last year, where we beat formidable opponents such as Kenya and South Sudan but we knew it was not enough, he added. The team also brought in some new players. Yes, we have some new players coming in, but I can't talk about it yet because we're still in the process of eligibility, stated the coach. Boost as Butera joins camp ALSO READ: Hope Butera joins Idaho Vandals Meanwhile, center Hope Butera, who currently plays for the Idaho Vandals women's basketball team in the United States, joined the rest of the team in the camp last week and Sarr hopes to see the 22-year-old bring the American basketball touch to the team. Hope is doing well. She's working hard to mature and improve her physicality. She simply needs to remain on the court for longer than six minutes. If she can do that, it will help, he said.
