After landing a wildcard to this year’s edition of the FIBA AfroBasket, Rwanda head coach Moise Mutokambali is optimistic his charges will put up a good performance come August.
The event is scheduled for August 19-30 in Luanda, Angola, after Congo Brazzaville were striped of the hosting rights.
“First of all, I am delighted we got this ticket because it is based on merit and I think despite the disappointing performance in the Zone V championship, we really deserved to be there,” Mutokambali said in an interview with Rwandan newspaper New Times on Wednesday.
“In Egypt, we lost to both Uganda and Egypt basically because of some technical errors, but we were always a team with the best game. I hope we are going to prepare for AfroBasket rigorously and as early as possible, I believe we shall have a successful campaign,” he added.
Rwanda, alongside Guinea got the nod from FIBA Africa’s Executive Committee Tuesday last week in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
The two teams completed the 16-team line-up for this summer’s biennial tournament from the seven Zones that make FIBA Africa.
Rwanda failed to earn automatic qualification after losing to Uganda in the semifinals of Zone V Championship in Egypt last month.
The 16 countries that have qualified include, reigning champions Nigeria, Tunisia and Morocco from Zone 1, Senegal and Mali from Zone 2, Ivory Coast representing Zone 3, Cameroon and DR Congo from Zone 4, Egypt and Uganda from Zone 5 and Angola, Mozambique and South Africa from Zone 6 & 7 plus Rwanda and Guinea on wild cards.
The draw for FIBA AfroBasket 2017 will take place later this month.