Rwanda team will seek to make amends in the next qualification window following a poor display in the just concluded African qualifiers held in Bamako, Mali
Rwanda national hoops team finished bottom of Group B standings after the first window of the African qualifiers climaxed over the weekend at Palais Des Sports Salamatou Maiga Stadium in Bamako, Mali.
Rwanda is ranked fourth joint on four points with Uganda and Mali but remain rooted at the bottom of the table based on the difference in game points.
In three mathes played, Rwanda defeated hosts Mali in the opening game, 74-70 then lost to Nigeria and Uganda 53-108 and 63-79 respectively.
In total, Rwanda scored 190 points and conceded 257 to leave them with a deficit of game points of -67 points, hence coming behind second-placed Uganda who have -3 and third-placed Mali who have -24 points respectively.
Table leaders Nigeria lived up to expectations, emerging as the third undefeated team. By beating Mali, hosts of the first-leg of Group B of the African Qualifiers 82-59 in front of a home crowd, Nigeria improved their mark to 3-0, and, as a result, joined Tunisia and Angola as the only teams yet to lose a game in the race for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China.
Over the course of three days, the former African champions cruised past Uganda, Rwanda, and Mali in Bamako by an average of 33-point wins margin.
Meanwhile in Group D played in the Mozambican capital of Maputo, Senegal beat the hosts 60-52 while the Central African Republic denied Cote d’Ivoire 63-62 in overtime.
Senegal and Mozambique share the lead of the group a 2-1 record each while CAF and Cote d’Ivoire closed the group’s first-leg with a 1-2 record apiece.
Back in November, African champions Tunisia defeated Cameroon, Chad, and Guinea to stay perfect in Group A while Angola got the better of Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, and Morocco in Group C.
The third window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers returns in late June, early July for the second-leg of Groups A (Tunisia), B (yet to be confirmed), C (Egypt) and D (Senegal).
At stake in the African Qualifiers are five tickets on offer for the continent’s countries to reach the first-ever 32-team FIBA Basketball World Cup taking place in China from August 30-September 15, 2019.
FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers
First Qualification Window
Friday,February 23, 2018
Group B
Uganda 86-102 Nigeria
Rwanda 74-70 Mali
Group D
Senegal 70-65 Central African Republic
Mozambique 65-53 Cote d’Ivoire
Saturday, 24 February 2018
Group B
Nigeria 108-53 Rwanda (15:30)
Mali 79-76 Uganda
Group D
Cote d’Ivoire 67-60 Senegal
Central African Republic 52-59 Mozambique
Sunday, 25th February, 2018
Group B
Uganda 79-63 Rwanda
Mali 59-82 Nigeria
Group D
Cote d’Ivoire 62-63 Central African Republic
Senegal 60-52 Mozambique
