Rwanda’s U18 basketball teams, boys and girls, will start preparations for the U18 FIBA Afrobasket on July 1 when the players will have finished their third-term academic examinations.

The U18 Afrobasket will take place in August in South Africa, bringing together top national teams across the continent.

Rwanda's junior national teams qualified for the tournament after emerging runners-up in their respective boys’ and girls’ categories during the FIBA Zone V U18 tournament that concluded in Kampala, Uganda.

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Fresh from the Zone V qualifiers, the players returned to their respective schools to sit examinations after which they will immediately resume training preparing for the U18 Afrobasket finals, according to boys’ national team coach, Yves Murenzi.

"We plan to start preparations on July 1 when everyone will have finished their school exams. We have about a month and a half to prepare for the competition and we are confident of doing well," Murenzi told Times Sport.

The coach pointed out that he plans to add new faces in his roster that will compete in the finals.

"Based on how we played in Zone V, it gives us confidence that, if we prepare well, we will do well in South Africa," he noted.