Rwanda lose Afrobasket opener

Group DRwanda 61-89 CARTunisia 103-56 TogoMorocco 65-79 Senegal Today’s fixturesGroup AMadagascar vs MaliMozambique vs Nigeria Group CIvory Coast vs EgyptSouth Africa vs Cameroon Central African Republic (CAR) gave Rwanda plenty to think about after outscoring the latter 89-61 in group D’s opening fixture. The Central African side who were without their star player Roman Sato won the first three quarters 26-11, 26-20 and 21-14 points before tying the final quarter 16-all. They dominated Vaceslav Kavedzija’s team in all departments and are now level on points with Tunisia, who also defeated Togo 103-56 yesterday. James Mays led the floor for CAR with 24 points, eight rebounds and two assists, Regis Koundia recorded 13 points and five rebounds while the duo of Lionel Bomayako and Max Martial Kounguere added 12 points and ten points, five rebounds and two steals respectively. Rwanda now have to quickly find their feet ahead of tomorrow’s contest with Togo. Hosts Madagascar are drawn in Group A alongside Mozambique, Nigeria and Mali; defending champions Angola, Chad, Morocco and Senegal make up Group B while Group C pits Ivory Coast against South Africa, Cameroon and Egypt. The tournament’s winner will clinch a spot at the London Games with the teams that finish second and third booking places in the 12-team FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament where three other places will be up for grabs. Ends

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Rwanda lose Afrobasket opener