Mombasa – The national basketball U-16 teams (boy and girls) are in a buoyant mood ahead of the start of this year’s FIBA Africa Zone V Championship on Friday at Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Indoor Stadium in Mombasa.

The two teams touched base in Mombasa in the wee hours of Thursday morning aboard a RwandAir flight for the biennial event that had initially been scheduled to start on June 1.

The tournament opening was postponed after some countries delayed to arrive in Mombasa. The tournament will kick off Friday afternoon after the draws and format of play is determined Friday morning.

The two Rwandan teams are in high spirits to successfully defend their titles. They held training sessions on Thursday evening. According to Jacques Bahige, the girls’ team head coach, both teams have got the same target and are positively looking forward to the event.

"I think we have the best U-16 teams, our teams have great talent and potential. We don’t know anything about our opponents but we are confident that we shall achieve our targets,” Bahige told Times Sport.

As of midday Thursday, three teams including Rwanda, Egypt and the hosts Kenya had arrived in Mombasa, while Tanzanian teams (boys and girls) were on their way.

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