KIGALI (Rwanda) - The country that has become synonymous with hosting high-level African basketball competitions in recent years will from July 28 to August 5 play host to the 28th edition of the FIBA Women's AfroBasket.

And as hosts the country's women's basketball team will be in action as they look to take advantage of their home-ground advantage to move higher up the rankings in 12-team Championship. 

Rwanda finished fifth in the 5-team Zone 5 qualifiers won by Egypt against Uganda. The three sides will be contesting for a podium place.

Rwanda have been in training since late June in preparation for the task ahead but have their work cut out.

Odile Tetero

Find below things to know about the Rwandan team.

Team: Rwanda 

Ranking: 91st; 13th in Africa, having dropped 3 places on last ranking update in February 2023.

Last participation in Women’s AfroBasket: 2011

Best Results at the AfroBasket:  2011 when they finished 9th on a 3-4 record, improving on their 2-5 ratio from 2009 when they finished in the same position.

How they qualified: Automatically qualified as hosts. 

Africa: This is the third time Rwanda is featuring in the biennial Women’s AfroBasket, the first since finishing 9th, 12 years ago. They, however, have been active in FIBA Africa Zone 5 competitions. 

2023 AfroBasket Group: Rwanda are in pool A that has Angola and Cote d'Ivoire who finished in 8th and 7th places respectively with a 2-4 and 3-3 ratio in the 2021 edition. 

Star Players: Odile Tetero led Rwanda in scoring with averages of 12.5 points and 3 assists per game. Another key player for Rwanda is Assouma Uwizeye who contributed 11 points and 7.3 rebounds during the qualifiers early this year.

Bella Murekatete 

New Additions: If available for the Championship, Washington State University standout Bella Murekatete could be a major boost for the hosts.

A 1.91m (6ft 3in) center who led Rwanda to a fourth-place finish at the 2018 FIBA U18 Women's African Championship, Murekatete is one of Rwanda's promising stars.

In that tournament in Maputo, Mozambique, Murekatete was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 16.8 points and 13.7 rebounds in six games.

Coach:  Senegalese tactician Cheikh Sarr who was appointed the Rwandese men and women's head coach in 2021. 

He was in charge when the Rwanda Women’s team left the Zone 5 qualifiers held in February 2023 with a 0-4 but maintained that the team has displayed tremendous improvement in the last two matches against South Sudan and hosts Uganda despite losing. 

Sarr has a huge task of leading Rwanda back to a successful campaign in the Women’s AfroBasket. A finish better than 9th would be considered a successful outing for the East African nation. 

Outlook: Rwanda who are making a return to continental basketball for the first time in 12 years have a herculean task of booking a knock-out stage slot as they head to the competition as underdogs in pool A. 

They face Angola who won the title in 2011 and 2013 but have been on a downward trajectory. However, they are still ranked higher up than the hosts at 48th and 6th in Africa.

Meanwhile, Cote d'Ivoire, in their 15th appearance, are looking to break the podium jinx, having finished fourth in 1977 and 2009 which remain their best performances to date. They are ranked 54th and 8th in Africa. 

Rwanda struggled at the qualifiers, losing all four matches in the five-team competition but are expected to field a better side at the Women’s AfroBasket with International players expected to be named. 

FIBA