KIGALI (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers) – When, at the end of the third window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers in Lagos, Rwanda emerged as one of the three teams to advance to the 12-team Second Round, it was a dream coming true for the East Africans.

But Rwanda captain Aristide Mugabe - who currently plays for local side Patriots BBC - insists that there is a lot more to come when they return to Nigeria for the first-leg of Group F, which runs from September 14-16, 2018.

"At a point in time after losing to Uganda in Bamako [in Group B's first-leg], the situation was bad but we never gave up," Mugabe recalled.

“NOW THAT RWANDA IS IN THE [GROUP F] QUALIFIERS WITH FIVE OTHERS - SENEGAL, COTE D'IVOIRE, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, NIGERIA AND MALI, I MUST ADMIT THAT THE LEVEL OF COMPETITION IS HIGHER. WE WILL NEED TO WORK TWICE OR THRICE AS HARD THAN WE DID BACK IN JUNE-JULY”- Mugabe

 "We told ourselves that we would come back and endeavour to win at least two games. We knew it was going to be hard to pick two games but we were ready to do whatever was necessary to qualify."

Rwanda beat Mali and Uganda to finish second in the group behind Nigeria.

He continued: “Now that Rwanda is in the [Group F] Qualifiers with five others - Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Central African Republic, Nigeria and Mali, I must admit that the level of competition is higher. We will need to work twice or thrice as hard than we did back in Lagos in June, but anything is possible. Getting a World Cup ticket is a possibility for Rwanda."

Reflecting on one of most recent Rwanda's success, Mugabe revealed that the team’s mindset before they left for Lagos was 'Let’s give our all best and together we can make it happen, and "we did it."

Mugabe played all six Rwanda games in the First Round, averaging a team-high 3.7 assists in 20 minutes per game. He attributes the landmark achievement to the adjustment the team made before leaving Rwanda.

“We went for big players that would be an advantage to the team and they helped us so much with experience and hard work.”

The 30-year-old guard attributes their Second-Place finish in Lagos to the team's tenacity and perseverance. “It meant everything to us, it was a joy. We are happy.”

Mugabe has helped his country win the 2011 edition of the FIBA Africa Zone 5 Championship and was part of the team that finished runners-up in the regional tournament two years later.

He counts three appearances at FIBA AfroBasket (2011, 2013 and 2017).

FIBA