TodayRwanda U18 vs PJB Goma 5pm

SundayRwanda U18 vs PJB Goma 4pm

Rwanda U18 men’s basketball team have lined up two warm-up games against PJB Goma this weekend as head coach Moise Mutokambali makes final adjustments ahead of the upcoming FIBA Under-18 Men’s Africa Basketball Championship slated for July 22-31 in Kigali.

Mutokambali’s boys, currently in residential camp at Green Hills Academy, take on the Congolese side in the first game this evening at Amahoro indoor stadium. The second game will be played tomorrow at 4pm, at the same venue.

Mutokambali says the provisional 16-player squad is in great shape and players are individually in good form for the continental competition, which returns to Rwanda after six years since it was first held here.

"The boys are doing great so far in preparations. The mood in the team is good and players are ready to carry the country’s flag high. Competing in the league has boosted them with needed experience and confidence,” Mutokambali told Saturday Sport.

When asked how he rates his team’s chances against the continent’s best, he said,” Every team is a contender; they will be in Kigali as the best from their respective zones. However, I think Egypt and Mali are the most terrifying.”

In the last two warm-up games, the U18 team overpowered the select US diaspora team 51-24 on July 8 before narrowly losing 65-62 to IPRC-Kigali on July 13, both games were held at Amahoro stadium. 

The ten-day tournament, which will be contested by a total 12 countries, will also double as qualifier for the 2017 FIBA Under-19 World Championship to be staged in Egypt. The finalists will qualify to represent Africa.

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