Wednesday, September 11
Quarter-finals
Rwanda Vs Mali 12:30pm
The FIBA U-18 women's AfroBasket returns to action on Wednesday as teams go head to head in the quarterfinals.
Despite losing two of their three games in the group stages, Rwanda’s women still qualified for the quarterfinals after they were awarded a wild card as the best third placed team.
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Their qualification came after Mali beat Morocco by a margin of 24 points in Group B, meaning that Jacques Bahige’s side progressed as the best third placed team on a superior point difference.
They now have an uphill task to challenge Mali, a serial winner of four of the last five editions of the tournament which faced little adversity in the group phase to make it to the last eight.
Except for their 51-43 win over Angola in Group B opener, the Western Africans demolished their opponents by large winning-margins, beating Zambia (136-13) before cruising to a 97-61 win over Morocco.
A relatively more competitive team compared to most of their previous opponents, Rwanda presents a new challenge for Mali, although the Malians remain favorites.
Other quarterfinal fixtures
Egypt Vs Nigeria
Undefeated in the group phase with a 3-0 mark, Egypt must come up with a plan to beat Nigeria for the second time in a row. The Pharaohs edged Nigeria 72-60 in their first meeting in Pretoria last week.
Tunisia Vs Uganda
One of the three undefeated teams in the tournament - alongside Mali and Egypt -, Tunisia faced a huge adversity to beat Rwanda (74-71) in their group phase meeting. Now, taking on Rwanda's neighbours and regional rivals Uganda comes as their biggest challenge.
Cameroon Vs Angola
This is a must-watch encounter. Although Cameroon are making their debut in the competition, their competitive spirit makes them look a regular contender, and finishing second in Group A behind Tunisia says a lot about this Central African team. Both Angola and Cameroon finished 2-1 in the group phase.