Afrobasket U-18 Kagame Cup
Yesterday’s results (Day 1)
Rwanda 66-63 Algeria
Congo 72-67 Mali
Mozambique 62-80 Nigeria
Today (Day 2)
Mozambique vs Congo-noon
Gabon vs Angola - 2pm
Algeria vs Mali - 4pm
Nigeria vs Rwanda - 6pm
Tunisia vs Egypt - 8pm
IN a nerve racking match that had a fully packed crowd on their toes for most of the game, the national U-18 team – ‘the junior hoops’ defeated Algeria 66-63 to register a positive start in the 2010 Afrobasket Kagame Cup.
The home side got off a poor start as their first ten attempts failed to find their way into the basket to leave the fans panicking. Algeria’s charge was led by point guard Guermat Mohammed Zaki who repeatedly tore Rwanda’s defence with precise passes. However, towards the end of the second quarter, shooting guard Lionel Hakizimana and power forward Eric Ngenzi bridged the gap with back to back three pointers to head into the half time break only seven points short (23-30).
That was the turning point as the team never looked back. Ngenzi went on to score a game high 22 points.
After the game, Coach Nelson Paris blamed too much home pressure for the team’s slow start and promised a much improved performance this afternoon when Rwanda entertain five-time champions Nigeria.
“The players were under pressure to perform infront of the home crowd but that should fade away in the coming games,” the American said.
Action continues today with Mozambique taking on Congo, Gabon playing Angola, Algeria facing Mali and a North African derby between Tunisia and Egypt.