Team Profile: Burundi is gearing up for the FIBA Women's AfroBasket Zone 5 Pre-Qualifiers under head coach Arsene Mfuraniza. With a balanced mix of youth and experience, including star player Inès Nezerwa, the squad aims to defy expectations in Cairo.
Last Updated on
January 31, 2025
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The landlocked East African nation is well aware that qualifying will not be a walk in the park, which is why they have been preparing vigorously in the nation’s capital, Bujumbura, under the tutelage of head coach Arsene Mfuraniza.
Preparing to face off against favourites Egypt, Uganda, Kenya, and upstarts South Sudan, Mfuraniza and Assistant Coach Gateka Belyse have released a preliminary 15-woman squad to represent their nation.
This is a well-balanced team with a potent mix of youth and experience and local and diaspora-based players, who will undoubtedly make their presence felt.
Notable players include Nezerwa Inès, who currently plays for French powerhouse ASVEL and recently competed in the Women's Basketball League Africa (WBLA) in Dakar in December with Rwandan side REG, where she averaged 12.2 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. The 6'4'' forward carries the hopes of her nation, as she is the most experienced player, having played NCAA college basketball and professionally in Switzerland and now France.
"The participating teams have been in almost all the Zone 5 tournaments and are powerhouses in the region, but we will just take it one game at a time," stated Inès Nezerwa
Alongside her are Nsanzabangwa Nelly Sandra and Izre Santhiana, who play for the Rwandan side Kepler, as well as Uwitone Nandy Linda, who plays for Rwanda-based powerhouse REG.
Other notable players include Irakoze Divine, who plays for the United States International University in Kenya; Kanyamuneza Inès, who plays college basketball at Kampala International University; and Ueinwza Ninette, who also competes in the Women's Viva Basketball League (WVBL) for the KCCA Leopards.
The head coach, Arsene Mfuraniza, who is often hailed for his tactical genius and dubbed “The Tactician” has full confidence in his team and their ability to make waves in these qualifiers. He also understands his team’s inexperience in continental competition but he believes that the experience some of his players have gained from playing in the Women's Basketball League Africa, the top-tier club competition for women's professional basketball on the continent.
He also adds that the mere fact that his team is making a return in the qualifiers after being dormant for all these years gives his team a new purpose in pursuing their goals. He says:
"Playing against other experienced teams can give them [his players] a new goal to reach and boost women’s basketball in general from now on."
The Payers, as they are affectionately known, will tip off on Monday in Cairo. They believe that they will leave a lasting impression as they turn the leaf on a new dawn for Burundian basketball behind their captain, Nezerwa Inès. They will use their “debutant” status as an element of surprise to snatch a few wins and usurp the competition
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