Africa-Press – Rwanda. Rwanda has been pooled in Group A in the AfroBasket 2025 finals that will take place in Angola from August 12-24.
The East African country qualified for AfroBasket 2025 after finishing in third place of Group C of the qualifiers second window that took place in Rabat, Morocco in February.
The qualification for the AfroBasket meant that this will be Rwanda’s seventh appearance at the continental showpiece since 2007.
Cheikh Sarr’s side was drawn in the same group alongside Cote d’Ivoire, Cape Verde and DR Congo.
The 16 participating teams for the FIBA Regional Office for Africa’s flagship tournament were drawn according to a seeding system based on the FIBA World Men’s Ranking.
Hosts Angola were pooled in Group C alongside South Sudan, Guinea and Libya while holders Tunisia will begin their title defense in Group B which also includes Nigeria, Cameroon and Madagascar.
The draw ceremony was also attended by Angola’s Minister of Sports and Youth Rui Falcao, Minister of Culture Filipe Zau and representatives of the 16 national teams.
Several Angolan and African basketball legends attended the ceremony, including 7-time FIBA AfroBasket gold medallist and FIBA Hall of Famer Jean-Jacques da Conceicao, 5-time AfroBasket champion Victor Carvalho, former AfroBasket Most Valuable Players (MVPs) Miguel Lutonda (2001 and 2003) and Joaquim Gomes (2009), were all present to help with the drawing.
In his speech, FIBA Africa President Anibal Manave praised Angola for being “the only nation in Africa that has the opportunity to host AfroBasket in different cities, thus increasing its reach and allowing more fans to attend the games.”
This year’s AfroBasket will be held in the Angolan cities of Namibe and Luanda, with the capital hosting the group and final phase games, while the southern city of Namibe will host the group phase games only.
“This tournament is not just a competition, but a celebration of African basketball excellence and our continued growth on the global stage,” Manave said.
The quadrennial basketball event coincides with Angola’s 50th anniversary of independence.
And Manave emphasized that, “this alignment of sporting excellence with a national celebration gives our tournament a profound meaning and is an opportunity to highlight the important role that sport can play in uniting nations and commemorating cultural identity.”
The 2025 FIBA AfroBasket will begin with the group phase from August 12-17, before the final phase will take place exclusively in Luanda from August 17-24.
The 16 nations were drawn as follows:
Group A: Cote d’Ivoire, Cape Verde, DR Congo and Rwanda
Group B: Tunisia, Nigeria, Cameroon and Madagascar
Group C: Angola, South Sudan, Guinea and Libya
Group D: Senegal, Egypt, Mali and Uganda.
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