THREE new foreign-based players are set to be added to the U-18 national basketball team that is bound for the 2022 Afrobasket tournament. Slated for August 4-14 in Antananarivo, Madagascar, the continental showpiece will bring together 12 U-18 teams from various African countries that qualified for it, including Rwanda. Having earned its ticket to the tournament last month, the national team is now embarking on preparations for the final tournament, and currently they are holding a non-residential camp. Speaking to Times Sport on Sunday, Yves Murenzi, the head coach of the U-18 national team said the team will add some new faces from abroad, and these include US-based Power forwards Sammy Arsene and Nzungize Rugamba as well as Belgium-based Point guard Herve Hitimana. These will join the team that already has a number of other foreign-based players like Prince Kabera, a power forward based in the USA, Brave Rutsindura a centre also based in the USA, Dick Rutatika also from the North-America country. When the tournament tips off, two-time winners Mali will attempt to retain the trophy to inch closer to 7-time winners Nigeria, Egypt (5) and Angola (4). In the previous showpiece played in Cairo, Egypt, Mali defeated Senegal 82-80 while Egypt settled for bronze with a win over Guinea 72-55. Host Madagascar is proposing two match venues: one of which is the Palaise des Sports Mahamasina. It is the best sporting arena in Antananarivo. Aside from being the venue for not just sporting events, it is where major events are organized because of its facilities and the ambiance it exudes. The championship in the men’s category has produced stars that have made their mark not just on the African continent but in Europe and America. Former U-18 African Championships in previous editions of the tournament have featured players like Mali’s Waly Coulibaly (2006), Egypt’s Amr Gendy (2008), Egypt’s Aly Mohamed Ahmed (2010), Egypt’s Ehab Amin (2012), Angola’s Gerson Domingos (2014), Angola’s Sílvio De Sousa (2016), Mali’s Siriman Kanoute (2018), and Bourama Coulibaly (2020). So far, qualified teams for this year’s U18 African Championship include Senegal, Egypt, Mali, Guinea, Madagascar, Rwanda and Angola. Other qualified teams will be announced at a later stage. Meanwhile, the Rwanda Basketball Federation (Ferwaba) recently confirmed that the U-18 national team is searching for friendly matches prior to the continental tournament. “We are looking for friendly matches with countries including Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey before we go for the tournament,” Landry Jabo, the Executive Director at Ferwaba said.
