RBL Round 17 (Regular Season): Kepler beats Orion in a derby game

The Regular Season in RBL just ended. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game was a derby match between two local teams from Kigali: Kepler (#6) and Orion (#8). Kepler (7-7) crushed visiting Orion (3-12) by 19 points 79-60. Kepler forced 19 Orion turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. The best player for the winners was Cyiza Twizeyimana who scored 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Burundian point guard Guibert Nijimbere (186-1995) chipped in 14 points and 4 assists. Center Olivier Kamanzi (-1996) produced 19 points for the guests. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Newly promoted Kepler maintains sixth place with 7-7 record. Orion lost seventh consecutive game. They keep the eighth position with 12 games lost.
Bottom-ranked Inspired Gen. (0-15) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 123-55 loss to fourth ranked Espoir (9-5) in Kigali. Chadian forward Ronald Nato (199-1992) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 29 points and 16 rebounds. Olivier Turatsinze contributed with 31 points, 8 assists and 7 steals for the winners. Espoir's coach Janvier Kamanzi felt very confident that he used entire bench and allowed the starting five to rest. Freddy Kwizera (-1996) answered with 18 points and 8 rebounds for Inspired Gen.Espoir maintains fourth place with 9-5 record. Newly promoted Inspired Gen. still closes the standings with 15 games lost.
Another exciting game was again a derby between two local teams from Kigali: Tigers (#5) and K-Titans (#9). K-Titans were crushed at home by 47 points 66-113 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. Fiston Irutingabo stepped up and scored 22 points and 4 assists for the winners. Coach 's team controlled all game and the coach could let to play all 12 players saving starting five for next games. Philippe Kubanatubane responded with 21 points and 5 steals. Tigers maintains fifth place with 8-6 record. K-Titans lost eighth consecutive game. They keep the ninth position with 13 games lost.




Kepler - Orion 79-60

The most exciting game was a derby match between two local teams from Kigali: Kepler (#6) and Orion (#8). Kepler (7-7) crushed visiting Orion (3-12) by 19 points 79-60. Kepler forced 19 Orion turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. The best player for the winners was Cyiza Twizeyimana who scored 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Burundian point guard Guibert Nijimbere (186-1995) chipped in 14 points and 4 assists. Center Olivier Kamanzi (-1996) produced 19 points and center Lukwanga Mugalu (207-2005) added 11 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks respectively for the guests. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Newly promoted Kepler maintains sixth place with 7-7 record. Orion lost seventh consecutive game. They keep the eighth position with 12 games lost.
Top scorers:
Orion: O.Kamanzi 19+4reb+1ast, C.Nkurunziza 15+4reb+4ast, L.Mugalu 11+12reb+1ast, M.Armstead 7+5reb+5ast, J.Irakoze 4+1reb, R.Nzitonda 2+1reb+1ast
Kepler: C.Twizeyimana 18+9reb+4ast, G.Nijimbere 14+4reb+4ast, A.Mugabe 13+4reb+4ast, C.Bowie 8+6reb+6ast, J.Ndoli 7+7reb+1ast, E.Ngoga 7+2reb+1ast

K-Titans - Tigers 66-113

Another exciting game was again a derby between two local teams from Kigali: Tigers (#5) and K-Titans (#9). K-Titans were crushed at home by 47 points 66-113 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. Tigers dominated down low during the game scoring 88 of its points in the paint compared to K-Titans' 36. Tigers forced 26 K-Titans turnovers and outrebounded them 52-29 including a 36-17 advantage in defensive rebounds. Tigers looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists comparing to just 9 passes made by K-Titans' players. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Tigers made 11 blocks. Fiston Irutingabo (-1996) stepped up and scored 22 points and 4 assists for the winners and Patrick Nshizirungu (194-1999) chipped in 17 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Four Tigers players scored in double figures. Coach 's team controlled all game and the coach could let to play all 12 players saving starting five for next games. Point guard Philippe Kubanatubane (-1993) responded with 21 points and 5 steals and American forward Kurt Hall (196, college: Ky Christian) scored 16 points. Tigers maintains fifth place with 8-6 record. K-Titans lost eighth consecutive game. They keep the ninth position with 13 games lost.
Top scorers:
K-Titans: P.Kubanatubane 21+2reb+2ast, K.Hall 16+2reb+1ast, C.Rwema 9+7reb+1ast, N.Janvier 8+8reb, J.Tuyishime 5+4reb+1ast, H.Mugabo 5+2reb
Tigers: F.Irutingabo 22+3reb+4ast, P.Nshizirungu 17+5reb+5ast, P.Ngabonziza 16+6reb+1ast, C.Rutazigwa 11+3ast, M.Lenguewane 10+10reb, P.Nshimiyimana 8+4reb+4ast

Espoir - Inspired Gen. 123-55

Bottom-ranked Inspired Gen. (0-15) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 123-55 loss to fourth ranked Espoir (9-5) in Kigali. They dominated down low during the game scoring 72 of its points in the paint compared to Inspired Gen.'s 20. Espoir forced 46 Inspired Gen. turnovers and outrebounded them 61-40 including a 25-10 advantage in offensive rebounds. Espoir players were unselfish on offense dishing 37 assists comparing to just 14 passes made by Inspired Gen.'s players. They brought some defensive toughness making 11 blocks. Chadian forward Ronald Nato (199-1992) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 29 points and 16 rebounds. International point guard Olivier Turatsinze (185-2001) contributed with 31 points, 8 assists and 7 steals for the winners. Four Espoir players scored in double figures. Espoir's coach Janvier Kamanzi felt very confident that he used entire bench and allowed the starting five to rest. Freddy Kwizera (-1996) answered with 18 points and 8 rebounds and forward Patrick Rugamba added 4 points and 14 rebounds in the effort for Inspired Gen.Espoir maintains fourth place with 9-5 record. Newly promoted Inspired Gen. still closes the standings with 15 games lost.
Top scorers:
Inspired Gen.: F.Kwizera 18+8reb+1ast, D.Molua 11+2reb+2ast, B.Mugabo 11+5reb+1ast, J.Lambe-Embola 5+5reb+3ast, P.Rugamba 4+14reb+2ast, R.Cyiza 4+4reb+2ast
Espoir: O.Turatsinze 31+1reb+8ast, R.Nato 29+16reb+2ast, F.Mwanawabene 20+5reb+1ast, D.Shema 14+3reb+1ast, O.Ngaifei 11+8reb+3ast, M.Nishimwe 5+3reb+2ast