RWANDA 63-73 South Sudan The national basketball teams winless run at the FIBA World Cup qualifiers has continued after a 63-73 loss to South Sudan on Friday, July 1. The game is Rwandas first in the second window of the competition, and it leaves the team at the bottom of Group B, having not won a single game out of the three it played in the first window that took place in March in Dakar, Senegal. Cheikh Sarrs boys trailed the physical South Sudanese for almost the whole game, except at the end of the third quarter where it got level 51-51. Throughout the game, one of the things that stood out was Rwandas struggle to convert three point shots, attempting 37 times but only hitting the target 9 times. On the other hand, three point throws were arguably the game changer for the South Sudanese as they converted 14 out of the 38 they attempted. Speaking in a post-match press conference, Cheikh Sarr expressed disappointment for the loss, and lamented his teams failure to respond to the South Sudanese physicality. He also complained about the referees, saying they did not really balance the game, as they did not award some fouls when his players were hit by their opponents. Rwanda returms to actions at BK Arena on Saturday against Cameroon, seeking to win its first game and try to brighten its chances of being among the top 3 teams that will make it out of Group B to the next round.
