Rwanda suffered a 59-70 defeat to Cameroon, marking their second consecutive loss in the AfroBasket 2025 Qualifiers. The defeat leaves them with no choice but to win their final game against Gabon to stay in the race for qualification to Angola.
The Rwanda Basketball National Team lost to Cameroon on Saturday night in the AfroBasket 2025 Qualifiers, Window 2, Group C, taking place in Dakar, Senegal.
After an opening-game loss to the host team, Senegal, Rwanda faced another setback against Cameroon. Coach Cheikh Sarr’s team fought hard in the second half but finished trailing by 11 points.
Cameroon built a 19-point lead in the first half (25-20, 22-8) and controlled the game throughout. Rwanda led for only 41 seconds during the entire 40-minute game, and that lead came in the first quarter.
Rwanda’s defense improved in the second half with a solid man-to-man and full-court press. They limited Cameroon to just 11 and 12 points in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. However, their comeback attempt fell short against a team that had a 25-point lead in the first half.
Rwanda won the second half 15-11 and 16-12 but finished the game with a 59-70 loss.
Antino Jackson Alvalezes led the game with a total of 23 points, adding 6 rebounds and 5 assists to his performance.
Vice-captain William Robeyns was the most efficient player for Rwanda, scoring 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-11 from three-point range.
Robeyns also contributed 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals, with just 1 turnover and no personal fouls in 32 minutes of play.
On the Cameroonian side, Fabien Quentin Philibert Ateba scored a team-high 17 points.
Following this back-to-back defeat, we sought to understand how Rwanda must react to fight for their pride and stay in the hunt for qualification, especially given their historical significance, as they last qualified for AfroBasket in 2011.
In the post-game press conference, Dr. Cheikh Sarr emphasized the need to put the defeats behind them and focus on the final game against the Gabon team.
“We saw that Gabon is very aggressive,” Sarr explained. “They have two players who play in Rwanda, and we know we must pay extra attention to these types of teams. They [Gabon] have their backs against the wall, just like us.”
Sarr continued, “It will be a final against Gabon. We will do our best to control their best players. They shift from a zonal defense to man-to-man, so we will prepare accordingly, repeating our systems and alternating between three-point shots and drives to the basket.”
Rwanda has struggled with long-range shooting in this campaign, and in their game against Cameroon, they made 10 of 38 three-point attempts, with only two players accounting for nine of those. Alvalezes hit 4 of 10, while Robeyns made 5 of 11.
A key question raised was whether Osborn Shema, the team’s 2.11m center, should be attempting three-pointers instead of focusing on attacking the basket and battling inside the paint. Shema attempted 10 shots from behind the arc, but only one of them fell.
The game against Gabon carries high stakes, and all eyes are on Dr. Sarr to see how he will respond strategically in this must-win situation.
Speaking on behalf of the players, Osborn Shema expressed the team’s mentality moving forward with confidence.
“Our mindset is to stay positive, regardless of who we are facing,” Shema said. “We are not giving up; we are ready to give our best and fight in every game.”
Rwanda has not qualified for AfroBasket through the qualifiers since 2011.
They participated in AfroBasket 2013 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, through a wild card, missed out on the 2015 edition, and returned in 2017 in Tunis and Dakar via another wild card before hosting the event in 2021.
The next AfroBasket will take place in Angola, and Rwanda must finish in the top three of Group C to qualify.
These teams will face each other once more in Window 3, scheduled for February, to complete the qualifying rounds.
There are five groups in total, and the top three teams from each group will advance to join Angola, the host country, in the 16-team lineup for the tournament.
