Rwanda qualified to the semifinals of the FIBA Women’s Afrobasket after beating Uganda 66-61 in a tense quarterfinal clash held at BK Arena on Wednesday night.
The Gazelles opened a 22-11 lead in the first quarter before the hosts fought back to narrow the deficit by just one point as Ugandans were leading 28-27 at the break.
Cheikh Sarr’s girls were unstoppable in the paint and hard to penetrate defensively as their incredible 24 points helped Rwanda end the third quarter in an entertaining fashion leading the way with 51-38, hence 13-point lead.
Ugandans were, however, not ready to give up, showing fighting spirit in the last five minutes of the game. But Rwanda played their cards well until the last second taking home the win leading 66-61 to the relief of home supporters including President Paul Kagame and Sports Minister Aurore Mimosa Munyangaju who were also in attendance for the East African derby.
With the win, Rwanda will now face Nigeria or Mozambique who have a game between to them in the last quarterfinal fixture of the day.
