By Ostine Arinaitwe
AFTER a commanding display in the just ended Zone 5 basketball championship, Vaceslav Kavedzija and his guns have switched their focus to the Fiba-Afrobasket tournament slated for August in Ivory Coast.
Following Egypt’s last minute withdraw, Rwanda’s men side had a smooth run after comfortable victories against Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.
Their female counterparts had a similar run against Ethiopia, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda but had to dig deep before seeing off Kenya. Victory meant that both sides not only qualified for the 10th All Africa Games slated for September in Mozambique but also the Afrobasket tournament which attracts Africa’s top sides like Angola, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Mali, Central African Republic, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco among others.
The national basketball federation (Ferwaba) technical director Shema Maboko does not disagree about the fact that the team will have to dig deep in the competition.
“We expect much stronger teams in the All Africa Games and Afrobasket tournament so the team should not rest on the laurels but instead continue working hard,” Maboko, who is also a FIBA certified umpire said.
This year’s All Africa Games will take place in Maputo-Mozambique from September 3-18.