Friday, September 6

Rwanda 56-51 Morocco

The U-18 national basketball team beat Morocco 56-51 in a tightly contested game on Friday, September 6, to advance to the quarter-finals of the ongoing FIBA Africa U-18 AfroBasket in South Africa.

With the victory, Rwanda climbed to the summit of Group C, having won its opening game Vs hosts South Africa.

The team’s last group game will be against Zambia on September 9.

The triumph against Morocco was a hard fought one for Rwanda, as the north Africans looked stronger in the early parts of the game, winning the first quarter 13-8.

By half time, the two teams were separated by just two points as Rwanda took a 32-30 lead.

With the leadership of skipper Dylan Kayijuka who combined well with his fellow guard Sean Mwesigwa, the team put up good offensive efforts in the second half, winning the third quarter 11-9 and the fourth 13-12.

Kayijuka scored 20 points while Mwesigwa and Jayden Rushema added 16 and 8 points respectively.

After the game, coach Yves Murenzi told Times Sport that he was happy for reaching the quarterfinals but noted that the job is not finished yet.