Kigali Titans have won FERWABA Division 2 Pre-season tournament, downing Orion in the finals to secure their first-ever piece of silverware.
The Titans were guided by experienced Cyrille Karima as a head coach, led by centre Umeadi Emmanuel who had 25 points and 27 rebounds in a dominant display to help this Kicukiro based club lift the first-ever trophy.
Orion got off to a slow start, 2-12 in the first five minutes of play however, they fought back to finish the first quarter with only 4 points behind. 12-16.
They kept the momentum and outscored the Kigali Titans in the second and third quarters 19-18 and 21-17 respectively. At the moment, Thadee Mutemberezi, the coach of Orion, was in total control and could have had more but, the Titans come out stronger in the last quarter and took the lead until the final whistle. Kigali Titans 70-61 Orion.
Umeadi Emmanuel scored a game-high 25 points, grabbed 27 rebounds. He shot 6 for 9 attempts and made 13 of 16 free throws. his teammate and former IPRC Kigali forward, Olivier Kamanzi added 18 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists
Patrick Ngabonziza scored 18 points for Orion before he fouled out. Ngabonziza come off the bench to score and register a double-digit score in the 19 minutes he spent on court
Earlier, at the same venue, the Inspired Generation claimed third place after defeating the Hoops 86-71.
Only fully vaccinated fans were allowed to attend these games at Amahoro indoor court, Petit Stade and Rwanda Basketball D2 league first season is expected to be launched next month
