Saturday Semifinal 1 Mali Vs Rwanda 4:45pm Friday Quarterfinals Mali 78-21 Cape Verde DR Congo 44-49 Rwanda The national U18 girls basketball team will this afternoon lock horns with defending champions Mali in quest for a berth in the final of at the FIBA U18 Women’s African Championships underway in Maputo, Mozambique. The two sides reached the last four yesterday after seeing off their opponents in the quarterfinals. Debutants Rwanda downed neighbours Democratic Republic of Congo while giants Mali proved too strong for Cape Verde. Led by centre Bella Mureketete, Rwanda progressed to the semifinals after edging DR Congo 49-44. The US-based youngster contributed 14 points. Having lost one game so far at the tournament, Charles Mushumba’s side took the first quarter 15-11 before DR Congo claimed the second by a slim one-point (11-10) score. In the third quarter, both teams played a balanced game to score 9 points each before Rwanda snatched the final quarter 16-14 to secure the ticket to the semi-finals. Murekatete, who has been on clinical form since the opening game against Egypt last week, was Rwanda’s top performer with 14 points, four assists, five steals, eleven rebounds and two blocks, while DR Congo’s Naomie Bonga posted a game high 18 points. Her teammate Grace Basiki added six points, 16 rebounds, two assists and three steals. Meanwhile, in another quarterfinal encounter, unbeaten Mali thumped winless Cape Verde 78-21 to progress to the semifinals. By press time, Friday, two other quarter-final games – Egypt against Angola and Mozambique versus Uganda – were yet to get underway. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
