Basketball in Africa

BY HAMZA NKUUTU

Yesterday

Men
Burundi 50-95 Egypt
Kenya 96-83 Uganda

Women
Uganda 57-53 Kenya
Rwanda 81-44 Burundi

Today

Men
Kenya v Burundi 4pm

Women
Burundi v Kenya
Rwanda v Uganda

Rwanda’s women basketball side is on course for a place at the finals of the African Nations Championship in Madagascar after an impressive 81-44 win over Burundi last evening.

For the third consecutive game, the host nation were in dominant mood much to the delight of the partisan crowd inside Amahoro indoor courts.
Mireille Karangwa led Rwanda’s assault with a game high 21 points and three assists.
She, along with Laetitia (18) and Honore Ayebare (12) were three Rwandan players, who finished the game in double figures.
Ayebare finished with a game high five assists. Only Sifa F scored in double digits for the Burundians, who were condemned to their third consecutive defeat after earlier losses against Kenya and Uganda.

Burundi drew first blood through Sifa, who has been their best players so far but the hosts rallied to take the first quarter 24-04. The second (20-12) and fourth (27-11) also belonged Rwanda, though Burundi enjoyed their best spell of the game by winning the third quarter (10-17).

A win against Kenya this afternoon will further boost Kavedzija Vaceslave girls’ hopes of qualifying for the African Nations Championship.

Meanwhile, the much anticipated clash between Rwanda and Egypt which had been scheduled for today has been postponed to Sunday.

Both sides are unbeaten and one of them is favourite to qualify from Zone five for the Africa Basketball Championship in Libya.
“The reason for postponing the game to Sunday was to give the fans the best entertainment on the last day of the championship,” Lucien Mugabo, an official on the tournament organizing committee told Times Sport