Rwanda's men's national basketball team fired a blank as they were beaten 70-59 by Cameroon on Saturday night, 23 November, at Dakar Arena in the 2025 AfroBasket Qualifying matchup.

Cheikh Sarr's side were nowhere near Cameroon's level throughout the first and second quarters, falling behind 25-20 and 22-8 as they trailed 47-28 at the break.

They rallied in the second half, outscoring Alfred Baliaba's men 15-11 and 16-12 in the third and fourth quarters, though it was not sufficient to earn their first victory in this qualifying window.

Antino Jackson of Rwanda snatched the game's most points as the point guard chipped in 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists. William Robeyns added 19 points and four rebounds.

Fabien Ateba was Cameroon's leading scorer as he sank in 17 points, while William Narace had 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Robeyns

Photo: William Robeyns was Rwanda's second-best scorer during their 70-59 defeat to Cameroon.

The final window of the qualifiers will take place in February 2025. Three top teams from each of the five groups will qualify for the competition, slated for August 2025 in Angola.

Under FIBA’s new competition system, the AfroBasket is held quadrennially and composed of 16 national teams divided into four groups of four teams apiece.

Tunisia claimed the past two editions of the tournament – 2017 in Tunisia and 2021 in Kigali, Rwanda.