Lycée de Kigali and GS Marie Reine, wearing their respective NBA franchise branded jerseys, Cleveland Cavaliers and Utah Jazz respectively, claimed the 2023 Jr. NBA league trophies
KIGALI, November 25 – The Lycée de Kigali Gymnasium, a Basketball indoor facility built in the joint effort of NBA Africa and the Rwanda Basketball Federation, hosted the 2023 Jr. NBA league playoffs finals to wrap up the two-month season.
In an exciting and intriguing Basketball showcase, the teams from East and West conferences fought for their pride and medals in this OCP-sponsored Basketball league.
However, while all leagues are about competition, this one also aims to develop the kids at the grassroots level, improve their fundamental skills while working with the coaches and provide them with tools to help them when they return to the schools and impart the kids in a better way.
During the 2022 Jr. NBA Bye Bye Vacance clinic Basketball camp held at Rwamagana, Mr Joël Ayoba Basketball Development camps liaison at NBA Africa, stated that they train the kids, instruct the coaches before taking the floor for the championship, then make sure that all the coaches have the package that will help them do the job at their respective schools.
As a result, the country’s well-known grassroots and talent developers were leading their teams to the playoff finals. Rene Sahabu and Henriette Uwimpuhwe guided the Utah Jazz of GS Marie Reine to the championship, defeating Didier Shema’s Dallas Mavericks of ESB Kamonyi.
Lycée de Kigali’s Cleveland cavaliers, led by Albert Buhake and Jimmy Gihana, beat the Lakers of Petit Séminaire St Aloys, coached by Saidi Maulidi Hakizimfura.
In the finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers of the Eastern Conference defeated the Los Angeles Lakers of the Western Conference 60-30 in front of Franck Traore, Head of Basketball Operations of NBA Africa, and Ian Cruz Kabutura was named MVP
Emeline Mahoro Iragena’s effort in the finals not only helped the Utah Jazz win the girls’ championship but also earned her the Most Valuable Player accolade. The Jazz of Marie Reine won the championship game 69-51 over the Mavs of Kamonyi.
According to FERWABA, the local basketball governing body, the Jr. NBA helps in identifying and developing the potential of young aspiring basketball players around the country.
“The Jr. NBA league contributes to detecting the talents among kids under the age of 15 through school competition, and it motivates youngsters as it is a yearly event.” Said Richard Nyirishema, FERWABA Vice President
He continued “We believe it is a worthy cause, and we will continue working together with Jr. NBA. We also have plans for a U-18 competition to provide continuity among our youngsters in various categories and to ensure that they constantly play.”
“It’s truly appreciated that the Junior NBA league supports both boys and girls.” Declared FERWABA VP
The Jr. NBA programs feature 30 boys and 30 girls school teams competing for their respective leagues’ championships. Each school team represent one of the 30 NBA teams in each league and receives corresponding NBA team-branded jerseys for their games.
However, there were 54 teams taking part in the 2023 edition, including 24 girls’ teams. It got started on October 21 with kids under the age of 15 from 43 secondary schools, and each school was permitted to field two teams, one for girls and one for boys.
The program strives to instil key values such as collaboration, respect, and humility in boys and girls in order to foster a lifelong appreciation for the game of basketball.
The Jr. NBA presently runs in 170 countries throughout the world. In Rwanda, the league was launched in 2018, however, it was previously held in 2019 owing to the COVID outbreak and its aftermath.
