Rwanda U16 boys reached the quarter finals of the ongoing 2023 FIBA U16 men’s African Championships after a hard fought 74-69 victory over Group A rivals Côte d’Ivoire on Sunday at Salle Mohamed Mzali in Monastir.

Skipper Sean Williams scored game high 21 points and 4 rebounds while David Ganza scored 14 points and added 5 rebounds to help the country inflict a defeat on the Ivorians.

The pair had a fairly-balanced first quarter which they finished level 15-15 before the West Africans headed into the half time break with a narrow 30-29 lead.

After a half time team talk from head coach Patrick Habiyambere, Rwandan boys returned to the floor with so much energy that the Ivorians found hard to cope with in the third quarter which ended with a 12-point lead in favor of Rwanda.

Rwanda maintained their lead till the last second of the game to take home a 74-69 victory, their second win in three games, enough to advance to the quarter finals.

Rwanda will finish their group phase on Monday with a game against Angola.