Guinea opened their FIBA World Cup Qualifiers campaign with an 82–70 win over Rwanda in Radès, pulling away in the second quarter as Shannon Evans delivered a 25-point, 5-assist masterclass to secure the victory.
Last Updated on
November 28, 2025
Rwanda got off to an early start when they converted from the first possession of the game, courtesy of a Cadeau de Dieu Furaha mid-range shot. With the wind in their sail, Rwanda doubled their tally with a pull-up jump shot by Steven Hagumintwari. With almost two and a half minutes scoreless, Guinea's Shannon Evans broke the deadlock with a long three-pointer.
The game then took an interesting turn as both teams settled in and the nerves had subsided. David McCormack got on the score sheet for Rwanda with an alley-oop. However, they could not contain Mohamed Queta on the other end as he got fouled and converted both free throws.
Guinea took their first lead in the game with a three-pointer by Souleymane Boum Jr. Shannon Evans scored another three-pointer, but David McCormack was right there to respond. With nothing to separate the two sides, they went into the first break at 18 points apiece.
Guinean playcaller, Nedeljko Asceric, had some inspiring words for his side as they came out locked and loaded for the second quarter. They went on a 13-4 run to force Rwanda into a timeout, but coach Asceric was not done, as his team went on another run, this time 11-0, prompting another timeout from Rwanda. At this point, the score was 39-22 in Guinea's favour. Rwanda came back more determined after a 4-0 run.
However, that was short-lived when Cheick Conde scored a floater to break this momentum. Dieudonne Ndizeye added another two points for Rwanda to cut the deficit.
However, that was erased by another three-pointer from Shannon Evans, whose offensive arsenal could not be stopped by any defence. Guinea enjoyed a 44-30 lead at the break. They just had to manage the game, knowing they had Rwanda with their backs against the wall.
Shannon Evans was still on the same cloud he ended the quarter with as he opened the quarter with another three-ball to take the lead back up to 17. After two silent minutes, Rwanda's Steven Hagumintwari broke the deadlock with a three-pointer.
David McCormack then went on a solo effort, scoring seven straight points for Rwanda. Rwanda also cut the 17-point deficit to seven. However, Shannon Evans broke that lead with a three-pointer.
Mohamed Queta then proved a handful for this Rwandan defence, showing great patience and impeccable footwork to lose his defender and score a reverse layup. Rwanda's Chandelier Twizeyimama drained a three-pointer to make it a single-point deficit.
Again, Shannon Evans erased that with a three-pointer. He had another heat check when he drained another three-pointer. He was clearly hot behind the arc, so he used that to his advantage and lost his man on the perimeter and got fouled on a floater attempt, and he converted both free throws to give Guinea a 62-47 lead at the end of the quarter.
After Steven Hagumintwari opened the fourth quarter with a layup, Guinea went on a 9-0 run to stamp their authority in this game. It was capped with a three-pointer by Abdoulaye Sy. This shot put gave Guinea a 22-point lead, the largest of the game.
It was a blow to the Rwandan side, but they remained resolute and broke this run with a three-pointer by Dieudonne Ndizeye. David McCormack then gave the fans a show with an emphatic alley-oop dunk. Rwanda cut the lead back to 15 and prompted a Guinean timeout.
However, Rwanda came back more resolute, and in a last-ditch effort, they made three straight three-pointers by Dieudonne Ndizeye, Prince Twa, and Chandelier Twizeyimama, respectively. They cut the lead back to six points with a little over two minutes left in the game.
Rwanda looked gassed after this run, and that is when Guinea punched back with a fast break layup by Ousmane Kaba and a three-pointer by Mohamed Queta. Dieudonne Ndizeye drained another three-pointer to make it an eight-point game. With the clock against them, Rwanda resorted to fouling to stop the clock, but Souleymane Boum Jr. made all four free throws to close out the game at 82-70 in favour of the Guineans.
David McCormack's 15 points and 14 rebounds for Rwanda, alongside Dieudonne Ndizeye's 18 points and Steven Hagumintwari's 18, were not enough to get Rwanda past Guinea. Shannon Evans led all scorers with 25 points, but had meaningful offensive help with Souleymane Boum Jr (18 points) and Ousmane Kaba (11 points). There were many positives that both teams could draw from this game in preparation for future games.
[Photography Courtesy of FIBA]
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