FIBA World cup qualifiers: Rwanda lose to South Sudan in opener

Rwanda 56-68 South Sudan (newtimes.co.rw)

Rwanda started her Group B campaign at the first window of the ongoing FIBA World Cup qualifiers on a low note after losing to South Sudan 56-68 on Friday at Dakar Arena in Senegal.

Cheikh Sarr’s boys trailed South Sudan by five points at the end of the opening quarter 12-7 but responded quickly by winning the second quarter by 21-19 before going into the half time break leading 31-29.

Luol Deng’s men were dominant in the third quarter as they fought back to win it by 27-21 only for skipper Olivier Shyaka and his teammate to lose focus of the game and went on to lose the fourth and last quarter on 38-42.

A disappointed Sarr said, in a post-match press conference, that, “we lost focus in the second quarter and, since, the players could not take shots any longer. There is still a lot to correct,” the Senegalese coach said. 

“Now we are going to do our best in the short time we have left to get a win in the second game," he added.

Small forward Dieudonné Ndizeye grabbed 12 points and 3 rebounds while Kenny Gasana got 8 points and added 2 rebounds.

Rwanda returns to action at Dakar Arena seeking to grab their first win in the qualifiers when they face Cameroun on Saturday, February 26.

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