PATRIOTS were on Saturday night crowned champions of the 2017 basketball playoffs after overcoming rivals Rwanda Energy Group (REG) 3-1 in the best-of-five finals series at Amahoro Indoor Stadium. After failed attempts in 2015 and 2016, Patriots bounced back from losing Game 1 (82-75) on July 14 to win the next three Games; 83-77 (July 15), 64-54 (July 28) and 56-52 respectively. In Game 4 on Saturday, Rwanda international Kami Kabange scored a game high 21 points for REG, but it was not enough to save the day for Jean Bahufite 's side. Patriots' youngster, Sedar Sagamba (PG) scored 18 points, while Elie Kaje (G) and team captain Aristide Mugabe (183-PG-88) added 12 and 10 points respectively as Henry Mwinuke's team completed a 3-1 series victory. Last year's regular season league champions, Patriots, started off the game strongly taking the first quarter 16-14, but lost the second quarter 14-7 before recovering in second half to win the third and fourth quarters 15-11 and 18-15 respectively to wrap up a narrow 56-52 win. Former champions Espoir claimed the third place at the expense of IPRC- Kigali. Men's team of the year: Aristide Mugabe (Patriots), Benjamin Mukengerwa (G) (REG), Dieudonne Ndizeye (SG) (IPRC- Kigali), Olivier Shyaka (197-G/F-95) (Espoir) and Kami Kabange. Courtesy of: newtimes.co.rw
Heroes' Day: IPRC-Kigali win hoops cup - Feb 10, 2017
IPRC-Kigali stunned favourites Espoir 76-65 in the title match on Sunday to win this year's Heroes Day basketball tournament that climaxed on Sunday evening at Amahoro Indoor Stadium, while Ubumwe claimed the women's crown. It was the first ever competitive trophy for the Kicukiro-based Integrated Polytechnic Regional Center (IPRC-Kigali) since their establishment in 2014. Albert Buhake 's side came into the game having lost to Espoir in the group stages, which made the final game even more fascinating. IPRC-Kigali began the game perfectly and easily took the first quarter 18-7, but the four-time league champions, Espoir recovered to claim the second quarter 26-16 to go into the half time break trailing 33-34. Led by their star player, Steven Hagumintwali, who was his side's top scorer with 15 points, IPRC-Kigali looked more motivated in the third quarter which they won 23-17 before sealing their historic victory with a 21-15 fourth quarter win, hence wrapping the game 76-65. Espoir's forward Olivier Shyaka (197-G/F-95) and his teammate Pascal Niyonkuru scored 18 points each, a combined game-high, but their effort wasn't enough to inspire the Nyamirambo-based club to a first title in 2017. 'We learnt from the mistakes that we made during the group stage loss and I have to say, the game today was a bit easier than we expected. This is a milestone in IPRC-Kigali history, we have managed to beat all the big teams to win this tournament,' said IPRC-Kigali coach Buhake. Courtesy of: newtimes.co.rw
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