Rwanda’s U-16 African Championship campaign came to an end in the quarter-finals as they were defeated by Egypt 94-78 on Thursday Night at Salle Mohamed Mzali in Monastir, Tunisia
Rwanda started the game on a bad note, losing balls and missing simple shots, which the opponent exploited to propel Habiyaremye’s side to a 13-2 lead in the opening five minutes.
Following a timeout requested by Rwanda, the tactics were adjusted and worked out as they dropped 15 straight points right away, allowing them to conclude the first quarter with a two-point lead, 22-20.
Egypt opened the second period with an 11-point run and grabbed control of the game, shooting from everywhere and outscoring the Rwandan team 27-12, heading into the half-time break with a 13-point lead, 34-47
A Patrick Habiyaremye-coached team came out in the third period with an attacking mentality to attempt to lessen the gap, however, the Egyptians resisted and kept the difference in double digits. In this quarter, the Rwandans scored 24 points compared to Egypt’s 21
Egypt continues to outperform the Rwandan team in the fourth quarter, outscoring them 26-20 to win the game 94-78 and put an end to the Rwandan’s quest for silverware.
In this game, Egypt converted nearly half of their 80 field goal attempts. They made 39 of 80 field goals, whereas Rwanda attempted 79 and only succeeded on 28.
Rwandan Kenrik Kabano had 21 points. Joseph Nshimiye added 17 points, Sean Williams Mwesigwa and Juru Cedrick Ntigurirwa contributed 13 and 12 points respectively.
Omar Essam Abdelhamed Hassanin Soudy led Egypt with 18 points.
the Rwandan team will play Morocco in a classification game tomorrow, while Egypt progresses to the Semifinals, where they will face Mali on Saturday.
Guinea will rub shoulders with Angola in another semi-final clash
