Rwanda will, in February 2022, begin its quest for a ticket to the 2023 FIBA World Cup that will be held in Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines. The qualifiers format will remain unchanged; with six windows over a 15-month period across the four regions of Africa, Americas, Asia and Europe. Rwanda is in Group B alongside South Sudan, Cameroon and Tunisia. In this issue, Weekend Sport takes a look at the teams that Rwanda will be facing in its group, and how the country rates against them. South Sudan The South Sudanese national basketball team has been steadily improving since its establishment in 2011. Coached by Royal Ivey, a former assistant coach for NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, the team recently participated at the 2021 African Basketball Championship (Afrobasket) in Kigali. Despite being their debut at the continental showpiece, they reached quarter-finals after defeating Uganda and Cameroon in the group stage and Kenya in the round of 16, before falling to eventual champions Tunisia. Their most recent encounter with Rwanda was back in February this year in the second window of the Afrobasket qualifiers. Rwanda registered a slim 62-58 win over them in a game that was lit up by the exceptional performance of Rwandan point guard Jean Jacques Wilson Nshobozwabyosenumukiza who set up a new world record for the highest number of steals (14) in a single game. If the result of the two sides’ last meeting is something to go by, it will be a tight contest when the two teams square off again in the World Cup qualifiers. Cameroon A team with some good memories in the game, for example, winning the silver medal at the 2007 Afrobasket finals in Angola. They had a performance to forget at this year’s Afrobasket in Kigali, having bowed out of the tournament without a single victory. They were first forfeited 0-20 for breaking Covid-19 protocols before losing 66-80 to Uganda and 65-98 to Senegal. However, just like a number of other West African nations, Cameroon basketball is a force that cannot be taken for granted. If they have their key players like Joel Embiid who features for NBA side Philadelphia 76ers and Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors, they would automatically be a serious contender for a ticket to the World Cup. Tunisia An African basketball powerhouse that hold titles of the last two Afrobasket editions. In the latest edition that unfolded in Kigali, Tunisia beat Cote d’Ivoire 78-75 in the final to make a statement about their dominance on the continent. Tunisia finished with a 6-0 win record, and were the only undefeated team in the tournament. To date, the team has made 22 appearances at the FIBA Africa Basketball Championship, ranking it only behind traditional giants Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, and Egypt, in total appearances. Rwanda’s recent experience facing the Tunisians was during the Basketball Africa League (BAL) when local club Patriots played against US Monastir, a Tunisian club that boasts of a number of big names on their national team. Patriots lost the game 46-87. Tunisia are the favourites to top Group B in the World Cup qualifiers.
