Friday Group B Rwanda Vs South Sudan 2pm Kigali-Time Cameroun Vs Tunisia 11pm Kigali-Time Group D Kenya Vs Congo 5pm Senegal Vs Egypt 8pm Olivier Shyaka, the captain of the national basketball team has said that he and team mates will put up a serious fight in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers that get underway on Friday, February 25. The team starts the campaign against South Sudan at the Dakar Arena at 2pm Rwandan time, and will in the next two days play against other teams in group B. “We are going to play like a team, not as individuals. Our aim is to make the country proud, we are hungry for silverware and ready to improve in every game. I believe we have the ability to win the tournament,” Shyaka told Times Sport in an interview. He added: South Sudan are a great team. We have spent a lot of time in preparation and we want to start the first game with a win.” In separate interview, Cheikh Sarr, the head coach of the national team told Times Sport that he asked the team to be relisient. “I say we can do it. We want to go out there and to win,” he said. The most recent encounter between Rwanda and South Sudan was back in February last 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.
