Basketball in Africa

AFTER Saturday’s disappointment, the national men’s basketball side hopes to get into competition mood when they play Madagascar this afternoon.

Rwanda had hoped to play African champions Angola on Saturday but the latter’s flight to Madagascar was delayed much to the frustration of Rwanda’s head coach Vaceslav Kavedzija.

The 26th edition of the Fiba Africa championship (Afrobasket) gets underway this Wednesday in Antananarivo city and Rwanda’s delegation head Jean Lucien Mugabo believes today’s game is good for the players.
“Saturday was a disappointment but we hope to get the boys in competition mood tomorrow,” Mugabo said.
Rwanda is drawn in group D alongside Tunisia, Togo and Central African Republic (CAR). Hosts Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria and Mali make up Group A while Group B pits Angola against Senegal, Morocco and Chad.
Group C consists of Cote d’Ivoire, South Africa, Cameroon and Egypt.

The top four teams will automatically qualify for the 2010 FIBA World Championships while the winner will secure a ticket to next year’s London Olympic Games.