MOÇÂMEDES (Angola) - Cape Verde defeated Rwanda 75-62 on Sunday to stay in contention for a spot in the 2025 AfroBasket quarterfinals.
Cape Verde took the floor with a sense of urgency, disrupting every one of Rwanda's attempts to attack.
Patrick Lima opened the scoring with a three-pointer, foreshadowing what was to come for Cape Verde, who eventually shot 9-for-28 from deep.
Lima's three-pointer came after a block shot from Edy Tavares, who finished with three swats.
It was the islanders' second win in three Group A games. Meanwhile, Rwanda joined three other teams — Madagascar, Uganda, and Libya — who were eliminated after the group phase.
TURNING POINT: Early in the game, Cape Verde led 9-0, and Rwanda showed no signs of containing their opponents' dominance.
The Rwandans trailed 16-2 in the opening quarter. They mounted a short-lived comeback in the second quarter and finished just eight points behind at halftime, with a score of 37-29.
Cape Verde's Blue Sharks intensified their dominance in the quarter and went on to lead by as many as 22 points. This was their largest advantage before settling for the 75-62 victory. Rwanda never led.
HERO: Kenneti Mendes came off the bench and added even more firepower for Cape Verde. He shot 4-for-4 from the field, including a three-pointer, and finished with 10 points. He added four rebounds and two assists to his stellar performance.
STATS DON'T LIE: From start to finish, Rwanda struggled to contain Cape Verde's dominance in the paint. It came as no surprise, then, that they were out-rebounded 53-33 by the final buzzer.
BOTTOM LINE: Less than 48 hours after their one-point loss to Côte d'Ivoire, Cape Verde knew they needed to bounce back to keep their hopes alive of advancing to the quarterfinals — and they did just that.
They outplayed Rwanda in all key stats to make their intentions clear in the tournament.
They would not know their position in Group A until after the later game on Sunday between Côte d'Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
WHAT THEY SAID: "I would like to thank my players for their tenacity. Cape Verde capitalized on our turnovers. However, I am happy that we shot better than they did from the three-point line (10-for-35). Their dominance in the paint with Tavares made things really hard for us." Rwanda head coach Cheikh Sarr.
FIBA