Patriots Stun APR to Save the League.

Patriots
Patriots defeated APR in their final RBL regular season game, ending APR’s unbeaten run and shaking up a league that once seemed destined to be theirs.

 

On April 20 at BK Arena, Patriots became the first—and only—team to defeat APR in the regular season, handing them their first loss after a 15-game winning streak. 

Bouncing back from a loss to Kepler, Sunny Munyandamutsa’s team showed grit and purpose. Led by Cole Elliott Lamar, who posted 19 points and six assists, the Patriots out-rebounded APR 42-41 and outshot them with 41% field goal accuracy compared to APR’s 31%.

Patriots
Sunny Munyandamutsa savored his biggest win in the Rwanda Basketball League and became the first coach to defeat a highly invested APR team.

The victory gave the Patriots sweet revenge after they had fallen to APR by a single point (68-67) in their first-round meeting.

Though APR had already secured the top seed heading into the postseason, the Patriots’ win—improving their record to 9-5—adds intensity to the playoff picture, with seeding still on the line and momentum swinging.

The unbeaten narrative is over. The playoffs just got a whole lot more interesting in the RBL 2025.

Patriots
The picture says it all. Patriots’ Frank Kamndoh celebrating the win in true basketball fashion. | Courtesy