KIGALI (Rwanda) - There were tears on both ends of the court at full-time as Burundi got the better of Tanzania in the opening match of the FIBA U16 Women's African Championship Zone 5 Qualifiers in Kigali on Wednesday. 

Burundi were happy to have dispensed off rivals Tanzania in the opening clash in a 62-52  outcome in a match that had to be decided in over- time (OT).

Tanzania regretted their missed opportunities that would have handed them victory. 

As soon as Crew Chief Evanson Mathangani got action underway with the jump-ball, Tanzania had their campaign off, opening the scoring through Magdalena Mollel from the free-throw line. She missed her first but got it right on second attempt to open her tally of 8 points at the end of the game. 

Chadia Mpitabavuma replied immediately with a layup that gave Burundi the lead while opening their account in a quarter they led 9-5 after five minutes of play and extended the advantage to six at 17-11 at the conclusion of the first stanza. 

Tanzania returned for the second quarter with a vengeance and were clinical on the boards as they went on a ten-point scoring spree while restricting the opponent to just three to take the lead at 21-20, halfway through the second period. 

Burundi tightened their defense, denying Tanzania numerous scoring opportunities as the latter only added five to their tally to head to the half-time break leading 26-23. 

It was a dramatic second half as Burundi reclaimed their lead in the opening five minutes of the third period at 32-26 but the Raymond Ngezi-coached Tanzania were not giving up and they fought on to tie the match at 34 at the end of the third quarter with a F Mziray trey. 

The theatricals continued into the final quarter as Burundi scored four to go 38-34 ahead but were punished for not guarding Mziray as she bagged yet another three pointer to bring Tanzania to within a point. 

With five minutes left on the clock, the two sides were separated by a single point at 40-39 and the difference remained with 2.30 minutes to play at 42-41. 

However, what transpired in the closing minutes of clash only added to the spectacle that the match had turned out to be as the youngsters fought to bag that crucial first win. 

Nganahe Lesamaito, who was on the court for just over 30 minutes in the entire match, rose for a three that dropped, the only one in three attempts from beyond the arc, to hand Tanzania the lead at 44-42. 

She beat a double team moments later to bag a basket for 46-42 and it was advantage Tanzania,  leaving Gateka Belyse-coached Burundi with about a minute to make a comeback. 

Esther Muhimpundu reduced the deficit to just two at 46-44 with 53 seconds on the clock. The match was tied at 46 off of a Clarisse Ingabire midrange jumper before her side went ahead 48-46.

Tanzania gave themselves a fighting chance as they tied the match with two seconds remaining but Mollel missed from the free-throw line, having being fouled on her way up to scoring the match-tying basket, sending the match to OT.

Burundi, who held an advantage on numbers, having a full squad compared to Tanzania's eight, were the better side, scoring 14 in OT against four for the ten-point win. 

Ingabire stared for her side with 14 points, emerging the matches top scorer as Carol Gateka added 11 to Burundi's tally. Keita Ajeneza and Muhimpundu contributed nine each for the win. 

Tanzania's skipper Upendo Katomboi emerged the side's top scorer with 13 as teammate Lesamaito added 12 in the loss. 

Burundi's bench power might have been the game-changer for Belyse's charges as the side had 32 points against Tanzania's 13. 

Both sides tied on fast-break points with 10 while Tanzania led the second chance points tally with 18 against 12. Burundi benefitted from 17 points from turnovers as Tanzania scored 14 from the same. 

The winner of the girls tournament in Rwanda joins Uganda, from the Zone, who have already qualified for the Final Round in Tunisia (13-23 July).

FIBA