Basketball in Africa

2012 Afrobasket U-18 qualifiers - Zone 5
Men
Game 1
Rwanda 68-29 Kenya
Game 2
Rwanda 96-34 Kenya
Women
Game 1
Rwanda 54-50 Kenya
Game 2
Rwanda 58-71 Kenya
Junior Hoops coach Nenad Amanovi? has paid homage to his team's resilience following their qualification for next month's Afrobasket U-18 boy's tournament in Mozambique.
After two weeks of intensive training, the national U-18 basketball team made light work of their Kenyan opponents over the weekend to secure a ticket to Maputo.
Playing in front of their home crowd, the junior wasps led by Point guard Olivier Shyaka thrashed Kenya in back to back games (68-29) and (96-34) to win the Afrobasket qualifiers which also doubled as the Zone V championships.
In a post tournament interview, Amanovi? said he was impressed with the way his team executed their task.
"The boys played with great determination and urgency. You could also see that the players are starting to gel as a team," he said.
"I think this is our best performance to date. Tactically and technically, this was a great game for us and I'm sure it's a touch of confidence to the team."
It's hard to argue with his assessment considering that two weeks ago; the team was struggling for confidence after mediocre performances in Burundi.
Other teams which have qualified for the continental event include Angola, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Gabon, Mali, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Senegal and Tunisia.
The tournament is slated to run from August 16-25.