BY JULIUS MBARAGA
RWANDA’s Group D opponents Morocco should approach this year’s FIBA Africa Nations Championship for men (Afrobasket) in Libya in buoyant mood after a spirited performance in the just ended Mediterranean Games which where staged in Pescara, Italy.
Morocco finished 5th at the final ranking after beating Albania (6th) 108-67. It was a good comeback for the North Africans who had lost to Turkey 67-88 in the quarter-final.
The 16th edition was won by Croatia who beat Greece in the final game 72 -60 while Turkey took bronze following their victory over host nation, Italy 88-71. Montenegro and Serbia ranked 7th and 8th respectively.
Morocco, Afrobasket champions in 1965 also put up spirited fights against Greece 84-96, Croatia 63-75 and Serbia 66-77.
In the latest FIBA ranking, Greece and Serbia are ranked 4th and 5th while Croatia are ranked 18th so Morocco will fall back on their performance when the basketball showpiece throws off on August 5.
Angola, ranked 12th is the only African nation in the top twenty.
Besides Rwanda and Morocco, Cape Verde and Tunisia are the other Group D teams.
Meanwhile, Rwanda’s trio of Hamza Ruhezamihigo, Robert Thomson and Mathieu Miller are expected to link up with the team before it’s intended two-week training camp in Italy.
“Miller and Thomson arrive on Sunday while Hamza should be here sometime next week,” confirmed Eric Kalisa, president of the local basketball governing body (Ferwaba).
The Afrobasket competition is slated for August 5 to 15 in Tripoli and Benghazi.
Group A: Libya, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and South Africa
Group B: Angola, Mozambique, Egypt and Mali
Group C: Cameroon, Senegal, Congo and Central African Republic
Group D: Cape Verde, Morocco, Rwanda and Tunisia.