Africa-Press – . Thursday
Group A
Cape Verde Vs DR Congo 3pm
Rwanda Vs Angola 6pm
Group B
Egypt Vs Tunisia 9pm
Cheikh Sarr, the head coach of the Rwanda national basketball team, has said that his side are well motivated ahead of their second game in the Afrobasket 2021 tournament on Thursday, August 26.
The hosts face Angola at Kigali Arena, starting 6pm CAT.
Rwanda, who launched their Group A campaign with a 82-68 victory over DR Congo on Tuesday, will be looking for a crucial win that would all but guarantee a spot into the quarter-finals.
In an exclusive interview with Times Sport, Sarr urged his players to step up and give their best against Angola – the record 11-time African champions – who started their quest with a surprise 71-76 defeat at the hands of Cape Verde.
“We want to win because we want to represent the country well. My team is very motivated and engaged,” he said.
He added: “After the victory (against DRC), we discussed a lot about the game against Angola. I think my players understand the mission; have good communication on the court and closely watch out for the main Angolan players.”
The Senegal-born tactician acknowledges the strong opponent that Angola is.
“It is a team with many good players, and a lot of experience. Nonetheless, we have to remain focused and put in effort. We are ready and we have a strategy in place. [Hopefully] all will go well.”
On the tactical side, Sarr admits that his team has a challenge of losing long-balls.
“We are not the only ones losing balls, Angola does too. You can lose the ball and fill that gap with steals,” he said. “For instance we have 15 steals so far, when you deduct this from the 28 balls we lost, you remain with 13 lost balls.”
In other games scheduled for Thursday, Cape Verde take on DR Congo at 3pm, with reigning champions Tunisia and Egypt squaring off at 9pm.
By press time, Central African Republic led Guinea 52-50 in the third quarter of the first game.
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