Rwandan women were given a sigh of relief as they advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIBA Women's Afrobasket going on in Kigali despite Sunday's Group A shock 68-74 defeat at the hands of Angola.
In an electrifying showdown which President Paul Kagame and first daughter Ange Kagame attended, the hosts struggled to cope with Angolans' pressure in the last two quarters as they threw a 16-point lead at the break to falling 2 points shy of Angola at the end of the third quarter.
"The third quarter was our downfall due to emotional play and rushing decisions," reacted visibly-disappointed Rwanda coach Cheikh Sarr in a post-match press conference.
"The high number of turnovers [22] led to numerous fast break points for the opponents. We managed to stop them initially, but they came back strong, drawing fouls and dominating on the free-throw line [42 attempts]."
The game, which kept fans on the edge of their seats, went into overtime after the fourth quarter ended in a tense 64-64 tie. Angola went on to win the game to ensure that each of the Group A teams registered at least a win.
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Despite the loss, Rwanda's players showcased remarkable skill and determination throughout the match. Janai Crooms Robertson emerged as the star for the home side, contributing an impressive 19 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Destiney Promise Philoxy also made a significant impact, dropping 15 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists while Sandra Kantore added 10 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist.
On the Angolan side, Nadir Manuel stole the show delivering a stellar performance with a 21 points, 10 rebounds and 1 assist double-double while Sara Caetano contributed 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.
After the defeat, Sarr said that emotions got the better of his women, leading to as many turnovers as 22 and giving Angola numerous opportunities for fast break points.
The Senegalese tactician, however, acknowledged his team's potential for growth and learning from experience, emphasizing that they would review the match video to identify areas of improvement.
"We have a young team, and this loss provides valuable experience for growth. We'll carefully review the footage and work on correcting our mistakes."
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For Janai Crooms Robertson, Rwanda lost so many rebounds which resulted in crucial points in favor of Angola.
Robertson said, "We know we got out-rebounded, and it's tough to win games when you can't secure the boards and box out effectively. Our execution in distressed rebounding and ball handling could have been better."
"Nonetheless, we're staying united as a team. While we didn't achieve the desired result, we're still in the race and have another chance to play. We'll analyze the film and focus on the next game," she added.
Rwanda booked the ticket to the last eight after finishing at the top team in Group A ahead of Angola and Cote D'Ivoire who emerged second and third respectively.
Angola will take on Group B bottom ranked Guinea in a high-stakes battle to determine who will secure a place in the quarter-finals while Cote D'Ivoire will face Mozambique, who finished second-ranked in Group B, in another thrilling encounter to earn their passage to the next stage of the tournament.
Both matches will take place on Tuesday, August 1.
