The Rwanda women’s national basketball team on Monday started their campaign in the 2021 Zone 5 Africa Basketball qualifiers with a hard fought 68-45 win over Kenya in empty stadiums at Arena sports complex in Kigali.
Rwanda will be rubbing shoulders with Kenya, South Sudan and Egypt, the only teams that have been confirmed to participate in the five-day showpiece.
The teams will play under a robin format, before the overall winner qualifies for the final tournament slated for September 17 to 22, in Yaounde, Cameroon.
On Tuesday, Rwanda will be up against Egypt at 6pm, before taking on South Sudan on Wednesday.
Host nation Cameroon alongside the 2019 women’s Afrobasket semi-finalists including reigning champions Nigeria, runners-up Senegal as well as third and fourth-placed Mali and Mozambique automatically qualified for this year’s edition while the other seven slots are up for grabs.
Regional qualifying tournaments across the continent are all happening this month, and a winner from each zone will automatically book a place for the finals in Cameroon.
CU/abj/APA