Thursday

Group B

Ghana 3-0 SeychellesRwanda 3-1 CameroonAlgeria 3-0 Cape Verde

RWANDA outclassed defending champions Cameroon in a four-set thriller 3-1 on Thursday to edge closer to men’s volleyball semi-finals at the ongoing All Africa Games in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.

Cameroon claimed the first set 25-16 but a resilient Team Rwanda led by Chrishophe Mukunzi and Lawrence Yakan bounced back to grab the second, third and fourth sets 29-27, 25-23 and 25-19 respectively in match that lasted for 115 minutes.

Rwanda improved the win- loss ratio to 2-2 with 7 points, while Cameroon dropped also to 2-2 with 6 points. Left-attacker Yakan led Rwanda’s surge with 17 points while Arthur Kody posted 19 for Cameroon.

In a post-match interview with Times Sport from Brazzaville, Rwanda’s head coach Paul Bitok said, "We are a bit relieved now, this win is very important for us.”

"However, we should immediately shift focus on Saturday’s (tomorrow) final group game against Cape Verde, should we win it and Ghana lose to Algeria, we will qualify for semi-finals,” the Kenyan trainer noted.

It is not the first time for Rwanda to beat Cameroon, in January, 2014 Bitok’s men won 3-1 in Cameroon in the final round of qualifiers of the 2014 FIVB World Championships hosted and won by Poland.

As it stands, Algeria top pool B table with 12 points, three ahead of second-placed Ghana, Rwanda stand third with 7 points, Cameroon are fourth with six.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw