KIBAHA (Tanzania) - On Saturday, Rwanda's U16 boys finished as champions of the Zone 5 U16 AfroBasket qualifiers, which bodes well for the East African country as it prepares to host the tournament from September 2-14.
Despite losing to neighbors Kenya 88-82, coach Bienvenue Ngandu's Rwandan national team won two games, against Tanzania (106-90) and Uganda (91-64). He will certainly be pleased with how his U16s performed.
With three months remaining before the U16 AfroBasket tournament, Ngandu will want to improve in a few areas. Ngandu was impressed with players like Manzi Kabenga, who had a double-double (40 points and 10 rebounds) against Tanzania and 21 points and five rebounds in the loss to Kenya.
Ian Murenzi was another player who stepped up, contributing 18 points, six rebounds, and two steals in the win over Uganda.
Kenya should be pleased with their improved performance against the formidable Rwanda team. A 28-point performance by team captain Brian Kurui and contributions from Cayden Kimani (16 points), Leo Gaite (15 points), and Zaddock Cole (10 points) set Kenya up for the memorable win.
As the tournament returns home, Rwanda will want to improve upon their fifth-place finish in Tunisia two years ago.
Led by experienced coach Andrew Tendo, Uganda finished second with a 2-1 record, beating Kenya and Tanzania.
In Saturday's final game, the Ugandans triumphed 71-45 over the tournament hosts. Evans Shyaka led his country with 23 points, going 8 for 14 on field goals, including 6 for 11 on three-pointers.
Joshua Bwakanda (16 points and 11 rebounds) and Shammah Kwizera (13 points and 10 rebounds) both posted double-doubles.
Uganda scored 19 points off turnovers and had 12 second-chance points in their victory over Tanzania.
Tanzania's captain, Raphael Raphael, led his team in scoring with 17 points.
The Junior Silverbacks will return to the Youth Tournament after competing in the 2023 edition. They will hope to improve upon their 10th-place finish from two years ago.
Meanwhile, Tanzania and Kenya ended their competitions with similar records (1–2).
FIBA