KIGALI, Rwanda (February 10, 2021) - Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's basketball fifth-year guard
Ntore Habimana has been selected to the Rwanda men's national team ahead of the second window of games for the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 qualifiers.
Habimana, a native of Mississauga, Ont., is eligible to compete for Rwanda as his father is originally from the country.
“To have the privilege to represent my country of origin is something special,” said Habimana on his selection. “I'm not only here representing myself, but also my last name and a whole country, which is a great honour. The job is certainly not finished though.”
“I am very happy and proud of Ntore being called to represent Rwanda for the FIBA qualifiers,” said Laurier head coach
Justin Serresse. “Ntore has come a long way as a rookie walk-on in my first season and I always had a lot of faith in Ntore as I saw his potential from day one. We are very excited for him to be able to play on the international stage and we hope this opportunity will allow him to be scouted by a few agents and teams overseas. Ntore is looking to go play professionally and we believe he has the talent to do so.”
Habimana joined the Golden Hawks as a rookie in 2016-17 and quickly became an integral part of the team. He appeared in all 24 regular season games in his second and third years before having his 2019-20 season cut short due to injuries. In 70 career regular season games for the purple and gold, he averaged 8.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game including a career-best 12.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists in his last full season in 2018-19.
The second window of qualifying games for FIBA AfroBasket 2021 get underway in Monastir, Tunisia beginning on Wednesday, February 17. Rwanda is set to face Mali, Nigeria and South Sudan after going 0-3 through the first window of qualifying back in November.
Rwanda has already qualified for AfroBasket 2021 as the host country with the capital city of Kigali set to host the African championship from August 17 to 29.
