Cheikh Sarr and his Rwandan side left the Salle ibn Yassine in Rabat looking frustrated after squandering a nine-point lead to fall to a more combative Cameroon side.
The Cameroonian lions roared back to complete a comeback in the last quarter to win the game 86-83.
Had Rwanda beaten Cameroon on Saturday, they would have been celebrating a qualification for AfroBasket 2025, but a combination of errors prevented the East Africans from winning their first game in Rabat.
Rwanda shot an impressive 15-for-29 from three-point range in the first three quarters, but Cameroon’s adjustment in the final ten minutes left Sarr’s side cold, hitting just one of their nine long-range attempts.
The 86-83 loss to Cameroon was Rwanda’s fourth in five games in the 2025 AfroBasket qualifiers.
While Cameroon improved their record to 4-1, Rwanda are 1-4. Their only hope for a qualification to the Afrobasket 2025 finals lies in beating Gabon in the last Group C fixture scheduled for Sunday, February 23.
Rwanda led by eight points (68-60) in the third quarter and looked to be in control of their destiny.
But, when Jean Jacques Nshobozwabyosenumukiza was called for an unsportsmanlike foul and Jeremiah Hill made four free throws to keep the ball in Cameroon’s possession, it gave them all the encouragement they needed.
Rwanda briefly took a two-point lead (83-81) after a lay-up by Ntore Habimana, but Williams Narace and Hill combined for five points in the final minutes to break the hearts of the Rwandans.
Hill was joined by Paul Eboua for a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds as Cameroon improved to 4-1 ahead of Sunday’s eagerly-awaited clash with Group C leaders Senegal.
One lesson learned from Rwanda’s fourth defeat of the tournament is that fouling nine times in the final quarter can be extremely costly, especially against a reasonably good free-throw shooting team like Cameroon.
Although Cameroon only led for 14:43 minutes, they stepped up when it mattered most. They showed some composure and, as Eboua later admitted, “the team is ready to take on Senegal on Sunday” in one of the most eagerly-awaited games in Group C.
Rwanda suffers its second loss in the AfroBasket 2025 qualifiers’ third window. To secure a spot in the tournament set for July in Angola, Sarr’s men must defeat Gabon on Sunday.
