As the BetPawa Playoffs heat up, all eyes are on the Patriots BC and APR BBC, preparing to tip off the best-of-five series of the Rwanda Basketball League semifinals on Wednesday, August 23, at BK Arena.
KIGALI, August 23, Basketball fans will be treated to yet another spectacular round of basketball action to kick off the postseason series that will determine the 2023 Rwanda Basketball League champion.
This series appears to be carrying on the vibes of the most thrilling regular season we’ve seen, as the battle had to go down to the wire. REG’s Adonis Filer hit a game-winning buzzer-beater against the Patriots in the last regular-season game, determining the seeding for the playoffs.
From that shot that defined the postseason matchups, The long-awaited clash between the former Champions Patriots and APR sprang in what is deemed final before final.
Patriots vs. APR seems to be too close to call, with each side rightly confident in its potential to win. The No. 2-seeded Patriots are spearheaded once again by their big men, Ater Majok and Kendall Gray, as well as forwards Jean-Victor Mukama and Dieudonné Ndizeye Ndayisaba.
While the Army squad will counter with its best guards, Robeyns William, Wilson Nshobozwabyosenumukiza, Ntore Habimana, and Demarcus Holland.
With Patriots’ Michael Andre Dixon uncertain, Roebuck Junior is poised to take over. Mike sustained an injury at the tail end of the regular season against APR.
However, APR’s choice of foreigners will be crucial. One of Rolly Fula, De Marcus Holland, or Bush Wamukota has to be dropped since only two foreigners are permitted to play in a league game.
Against the Patriots in the regular season, APR head coach Maz Trakh chose to sideline Bush Wamukota, and the Patriots out-rebounded his team while scoring the most second-chance points in the game. Prince Ibeh was employed alone against Majok and Gray, which forced him into a foul trouble. As a result, they lost the game.
Even though the rosters haven’t altered much, there are substantial alterations from the previous season. The Patriots are presently coached by Henry Mwinuka, who won the previous two league titles with REG BBC and is possibly the most successful coach in the Rwanda Basketball League of this era, having won three titles with Patriots before joining REG and claiming two more. When it comes to the series, his expertise is unparalleled.
The Tanzania-born tactician Mwinuka will face an illustrious opponent in Maz Trakh, who has extensive NBA experience as an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Washington Wizards, and Detroit Pistons. In APR, he is assisted by Cliff Owuor and Aimée Karim Nkusi.
You can confidently state that the Patriots-APR series will be the most exquisite not just in the 2023 season but also the greatest the league has ever had based on their coaching profiles and the investment the teams have made thus far.
The Patriots’ roster will include American Michael Andre Dixon, the 2022 BAL MVP and Georgia International. He is paired up with Ater James Majok, a former colleague from US Monastir.
Majok, the BAL defensive player of the year in 2022, was drafted in 2011 by the Los Angeles Lakers. His tandem with Kendall Gray forms a strong wall, playing elite defence and, most importantly, grabbing rebounds like no one else, making it easy for their forwards Dieudonné Ndizeye and Jean-Victor Mukama (Canadian International) to hit threes whenever they want while being allowed to play an easy pick and roll game.
Patriots bank on their sixth man, Steven Hagumintwari, who can impact the game in all facets of basketball. Hagumintwari can defend, take long-range shoots, and drive into the paint, but his main strength is making crucial plays. Aristide Mugabe and Kenneth Gasana are also on the team.
Maz Trakh’s APR will be reliant on American guard Demarcus Holland, Congolese International Rolly Fula, a Rwandan-British big man Prince Ibeh, Rwandan-Belgian Robeyns William, Kenyan Bush Wamukota, Rwandan-Canadian Ntore Habimana, Nshobozwabyosenumukiza, and last season’s MVP, Axel Mpoyo
With these rosters and the fact that both teams finished the regular season on the same record (19-3), basketball fans are in for a treat. All five possible games will be played at BK Arena.
The second game will be held on Friday, August 25.
In another semifinal, the reigning champions REG BBC face Espoir BBC.
