Sunday Angola Vs Rwanda 11:15pm Saturday Rwanda 62-58 Tunisia Friday Algeria 63-81 Rwanda The national U18 boys’ basketball team kept their unbeaten run intact yesterday as they upset Tunisia to secure a second win at the ongoing FIBA U18 African Championship in Mali. The biennial continental showpiece started on Friday and will run until September 2. Rwanda who are competing at the event as FIBA Africa Zone V champions, recorded their second win after edging Group B rivals Tunisia in a tightly contested 62-58 victory. Point guard Jean de Dieu Umuhoza posted 19 points in the crucial win. Rwanda took the first quarter by a slight one point difference (9-8) before their opponents also took charge of the game in the second quarter, which they claimed on 18-16 points to enter the half time break with a narrow 26-25 lead. Tunisia again took the third quarter with a slim 13-12 lead before Yves Murenzi’s side turned the tables up, overpowering the North African team to take the final quarter 25-19, and seal the hard-earned 62-58 win in the Malian capital, Bamako. Umuhoza was Rwanda’s top performer on the afternoon as he dropped 19 points, seven rebounds and six steals. Tunisia’s Yacine Toume scored 15 points and contributed three rebounds, one assist, two steals and four blocks. In the opening game on Friday, Rwanda had thumped Algeria 81-63, thanks to shooting guard Thierry Nkundwa’s 31 points. Meanwhile today, a tough test awaits Murenzi’s side as they face reigning champions Angola. By press time yesterday, Angola were due to play their opening game against Senegal. Rwanda have been drawn in Group B with defending champions Angola, Tunisia; Cote d’Ivoire; Algeria and Senegal. Group A is composed of hosts Mali, Egypt; Uganda; Guinea; DR Congo and Libya. The preliminary phase of the tournament will be played in a round-robin format, with every team taking on its five (5) group opponents. The top four teams from each group will advance to knock-out stage, starting from quarter-finals. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
