Basketball in Africa

Group B, Sunday
Tunisia                  83-81     Rwanda
Burkina Faso      63-84     Morocco
Today, (1/8 Finals)
Tunisia     vs      Egypt   2.30pm
Cape Verde    vs  Congo    3pm
Senegal     vs     Rwanda    7.30pm
Nigeria   vs   Central Africa     10pm

RWANDA take on Senegal in the last eight of the 2013 FIBA Afrobasket Championships for Men today evening at Palaise de Sport Treichvile in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
Moize Mutokambali’s team drew the West African giants after finishing third in Group B with a win and two losses, while their opponents also finished second in Group A with two wins and one loss.
In a final and decisive Group B match against Tunisia on Sunday night, Rwanda narrowly missed on registering a win over the reigning champions with an 81-83 defeat in over time.
Tunisia improved to 3-0 record while Rwanda fell at 1-2 record and finished third in the group. Tunisia opened the game with a 26-17 rally, but then Rwanda caught up in the second period.
Rwanda posted a 24-13 surge to take 41:39 half-time lead.  The North African team only needed 15-13 in the fourth period to tie the score at the end of regulation time.
Macram Ben Romdhane top-scored for the winners with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Mejri Salah and Mourad El Mabrouk posted 16 each.
Kenny Gasana answered with a game high 22 points for Rwanda, while Kami Kabange Kami added 20 points and 14 rebounds. Ruhezamihigo Hamza produced 19 points and Shyaka Olivier chipped in with 13 points.
Gasana leads the top scorer’s chart with 66 points and made 16 rebounds in three matches, making an average of 22 points per game in 114 minutes played.
Since he first represented Rwanda at the 2009 Afrobasket, the US-based point guard has made tremendous contributions with his scoring ability. In the past two editions, he has averaged 17 points and 3.7 assists per game.
Morocco finished second in Group B with a 2-1 record after beating Burkina Faso 84-63 while debutants Burkina Faso finished bottom of the table with a 0-3 record.

Head coach Moise Mutokambali said, “We played a good game despite some lapses of lack of concentration in the final seconds of the game against Tunisia. This will boost my team’s chances against Senegal,”

If Rwanda edges past Senegal, they will face the winner between Nigeria and Central Africa Republic in the last four on Wednesday.