Wonder kid Emelyne Iragena Mahoro scored 20 points as Rwanda won the FIBA U16 Zone V title with 66-65 win over Tanzania on friday, June 30, in the FIBA U16 Zone V African Basketball Championship qualifiers at Lycée de Kigali Gymnasium.
Rwanda under-16 women’s team won the FIBA U16 Zone V title and earned a spot in the African Cup of Nations to be held in Tunizia.
In the first quarter, Rwanda finished with 14 points out of Tanzania’s 17 points, in the second quarter Tanzania ended with 32 points out of Rwanda’s 31 points, in the third quarter,Tanzania ended with 47 points out of Rwanda’s 49 points
In the fourth quarter ,when only 5 seconds left, Rwanda saved by Emelyne Iragena Mahoro who scored 2 points and Rwanda immediately surpasses Tanzania by one point At the end, Rwanda has 66 points out of Tanzania’s 65.
During their game against Tanzania, Rwandan youngsters were inspired by Emlyne Iragena Mahoro’s heroics as she dropped a game-high 20 points and 7 rebounds. Her counterpart Liliane Ingabire contributed 18 points and 8 rebounds.
Tanzania’s Elizabeth Laizer was their opponent’s top scorer with 20 points and 23 rebounds while her teammate Upendo Isaya Katamboi dropped 15 points.
Rwanda won the fifth zone cup, and got a ticket to the African Cup that will be held in Tunisia from July 13 to 23 this year.
The girls’ category attracted three teams – hosts Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania, playing in a round-robin format.
In the boys’ category, Rwanda finished second after losing the last game against Burundi 80-90, with Uganda in the first spot.
This means that the Uganda U-16 boys’ team qualified for the 2023 FIBA Africa Under-16 Championships after winning all games in the FIBA U16 Zone V African Basketball Championship qualifiers concluded in Kigali on Friday.
