The Rwanda U-16 basketball teams are back home after a successful outing at the 2025 FIBA U-16 Zone V Qualifiers in Tanzania, with the boys winning gold and the girls finishing second.
The Rwandan delegation landed at Kigali International Airport on the morning of Monday, June 16.
The regional tournament, which took place from June 12–14, featured four participating nations: Tanzania (hosts), Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda.
In the boys’ category, Rwanda emerged champions after winning two of their three games. They defeated Uganda 91–64 and outclassed hosts Tanzania 106–90 before narrowly falling to Kenya 88–82. Uganda finished second.
The Rwandan girls also had an impressive run, finishing second. They recorded victories over Tanzania (74–69) and Uganda (64–51), but lost to Kenya 61–53. Kenya, who clinched the top spot, have faced allegations of fielding overage players.
As a result, Rwanda (in both boys’ and girls’ categories as the host nation), Uganda (boys’ runner-up), and Kenya (girls’ champions) have qualified to represent Zone V at the final tournament of the 2025 FIBA U-16 AfroBasket, set to be held in Kigali from September 2–14, 2025.
