APR Basketball Club clinches the Rwanda Basketball League title for the second year in a row, overcoming the Patriots 73-70 in a tough Game 6. They concluded the best-of-seven series with a 4-2 record.

September 22— At BK Arena, APR Basketball Club successfully defended their Rwanda Basketball League title by defeating Patriots in a tense Game 6 of the Playoffs Finals.

A strong third period helped APR win a tightly contested game that came down to the wire. The depth of APR’s roster was extremely important, especially as Patriots played without the injured William Kiah Perry.

Perry suffered a back injury in Game 5, ruling him out for Game 6. Despite struggles with bench depth earlier in the series, Henry Mwinuka rallied his team to fight until the final seconds of the game. A missed three-pointer by Branch Stephaun could have tied the game and forced overtime.

Stephaun, the Patriots’ leading scorer, also missed a buzzer-beater in Game 5 that could have sealed the game for them. The scores were 17-19, 19-14, 25-18, and 12-19, with the Patriots’ late comeback falling short, leaving them without a trophy this season.

APR’s recruitments paid off, especially with outstanding performances from guard Isaiah Jaleel Miller and big man Aliou Fadiala Diarra. Miller, eventually dubbed the Playoffs Finals Most Valuable Player (Playoffs MVP), shone offensively during this campaign, while Diarra’s defensive prowess helped APR secure back-to-back league titles for the first time since 2009.

The Malian center led the finals in both rebounds and blocks, averaging 16.1 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game. Miller’s 19 points in Game 6 brought his finals average to 20.1 points per game, the highest in the series.

APR finished the Rwanda Basketball League regular season in second place behind the Patriots, having lost both first and second leg matches against them. However, with changes in coaching staff that saw James Edward Maye take over from Mazen Trakh and strategic trades, the reigning champions entered the postseason with renewed determination, eliminating REG BBC in semifinals and reaching the finals and facing Patriots.

This title marks a treble for the Lions in the 2024 season, as they also won the inaugural Rwanda Cup and the GMT.

This title marks APR’s 15th Rwanda Basketball League championship, the most in Rwanda’s history and the Rwanda’s army team will represent the country in 2025 Basketball Africa League.

Branch Stephaun’s 16-point performance propels the Patriots to a series-tying 61-49 victory over APR BBC on Wednesday night in Game 4 of the Rwanda Basketball League Playoffs Finals

The Patriots entered the game on Wednesday, September 18, determined to halt APR’s momentum and push the Rwanda Basketball League Playoffs Finals to Game 6.

After struggling in the last two games due to Diarra’s dominance over Prince Ibeh, coach Henry Mwinuka benched Ibeh, opting instead for Cadeau de Dieu Furaha and Frank Kamndoh. This move worked, as Kamndoh posted 10 points and 9 rebounds in 26 minutes, while Furaha added 8 points and 5 rebounds off the bench.

Though the Patriots got just 8 points from the bench—all from Furaha—they dominated the boards with a 57-41 advantage and shot 8-27 from behind the arc, better than APR’s 5-30.

Steven Hagumintwari’s defense held Jaleel Miller to 10 points on 4-14 shooting, while Branch Stephaun led the team with a game-high double-double of 16 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.

Captain Gaston chipped in 14 points.

APR’s Aliou Diarra posted another double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. the 3rd double-double of this finals series in 4 games

This postseason series has been thrilling, more so than last year, with the best-of-seven contest looking likely to go the distance. Game 5 is set for Friday, September 20, with Game 6 scheduled two days later, both at BK Arena.

Isaiah Jaleel Miller scores a game-high 32 points to help APR Basketball Club beat Patriots 67-53 in Game 3 of the Rwanda Basketball League Playoff finals. APR takes a 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4 on Wednesday.

The race for the 2024 Rwanda Basketball League title is escalating. Over the weekend, APR, the defending champions, bounced back from a one-game deficit to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series against the Patriots.

Following a dramatic overtime win in Game 2 on Friday night that evened the series at 1-1, Isaiah Jaleel Miller’s stellar 32-point game on Sunday led APR to their second consecutive win, placing the team in a good position to think about a back-to-back championship.

Isaiah Jaleel Miller, the American guard and clearly the most potent offensive player of this campaign, posed another significant threat to the Patriots. He made 12-27 shots in the game and recorded a game-high 5 assists in 32 minutes spent on the floor. Additionally, he stole 4 balls, the most in the game.

APR’s victory in Game 3 wasn’t solely due to Isaiah Jaleel Miller; the team’s depth also played a very important role. James Edwards’ bench added 19 points, whereas the Patriots’ bench managed only 4 points.

APR’s Aliou Fadiala Diarra had another strong performance on both ends of the floor. He scored 17 points, grabbed 12 rebounds (including 6 offensive rebounds), and recorded a game-high 4 blocks.

The Patriots’ weak bench has begun to wear out their key starters. With Game 4 scheduled for Wednesday, the Patriots need to regroup and halt APR’s momentum, or the army team will gain a dominant position and leave the Patriots with a nearly impossible task in the remaining games.

BK Arena will host Game 4 on Wednesday, September 18.

Aliou Diarra Fadiala dropped a monster double-double performance of 20 points, 18 rebounds, and a game-high 4 blocks to help APR BBC beat the top-seeded Patriots 101-93 on Friday night to tie the 2024 Rwanda Basketball League Playoff finals series at one game apiece.

Two days after a 12-point loss in Game 1, with Aliou Diarra dominating the team’s scoring and board charts but getting a little help, the Malian Center come out aggressive in Game 2, delivering both a strong defensive effort and an impressive offensive display.

Aliou Diarra’s APR started game 2 with an explosive 8-0 run in just 1 minute and 20 seconds, building on that momentum to close the first period ahead with 30-18.

Eager to finish the game early, much like their opponents did in Game 1, the defending champions kept up the intensity in the second quarter, scoring 27 points while holding the Patriots to just 17.

By halftime, APR extended their lead to 57-35; however, the Patriots launched a fierce comeback, starting with a 17-4 run in the first four minutes of the third quarter.

During this quarter, Aliou Diarra, the BAL 2023 defensive player of the year, was visibly frustrated after being subbed out by coach Maye. The standout defender wanted to stay on the floor as much as possible.

Despite the Patriots’ duo of Steven Hagumintwari and Dieudonné Ndizeye Ndayisaba heating up from three-point range, the army team slowed them down, and the third quarter ended with the Patriots cutting the deficit to 12, trailing 74-62.

Determined to mount one of the greatest comebacks in Rwanda Basketball League history, the Patriots entered the final quarter with renewed energy. Kamndoh Frank, who had been rested for the first two quarters, stepped up to take over from Ibeh, who was in foul trouble, and helped the patriots achieve what had seemed impossible.

Aliou Diarra’s APR held on to their lead until 2:54 left in the game, still ahead by 11 points. But William Perry hit two consecutive three-pointers, following Ibeh’s layup, cutting the lead to just three points with a minute remaining.

The reigning champions missed crucial free throws in the final minute, giving the Patriots a chance to claw their way back. A three-pointer from Hagumintwari and a layup by Kamndoh tied the game at 86 and forced overtime.

Despite never leading during regular time, the 2020 Rwanda Basketball League champions expended so much energy in their comeback that they struggled in overtime, especially after Ibeh and Kamndoh both fouled out. This allowed Aliou Diarra to dominate the boards, grabbing alomost all rebounds.

Axel Mpoyo’s back-to-back threes in overtime lifted APR to a much-needed victory to tie the series at 1-1.

Behind Aliou Diarra’s stellar performance on both ends of the floor, Mpoyo finished with a team-high 27 points, including 7 threes from 13 attempts.

Even with the loss, the Patriots were highly efficient from behind the arc, shooting 15-31 overall. Perry went 3-9, Stephaun 3-8, Hagumintwari 3-4, and captain Gaston hit 5-9.

Branch Stephaun led all scorers with 29 points, and the series resumes with Game 3 on Sunday.

PHOTOS: Innocent SHEMA

Branch Stephaun excels on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor Wednesday night as the Patriots beat APR BBC 83-71 in Game 1 of the Rwanda Basketball League Playoff Finals.

On September 11 at BK Arena, American guard Branch Stephaun scored 26 points to lead the Patriots to a strong start in the finals’ series against the defending champions, APR.

The top-seeded Patriots, who lost only one game in the regular season, advanced to the finals after sweeping Kepler in the semifinals. They now face APR, the reigning champs, reigniting a rivalry that began last year.

APR made a coaching change prior to the playoffs, with James Edward Maye replacing Mazen Trakh, who had lost twice to the Patriots’ Henry Mwinuka during the regular season.

After eliminating the REG in the semifinals, APR knew that the finals would bring tougher challenges. In the first quarter, APR trailed the Patriots by six points, 21-15, before the Patriots turned up the heat, building a 24-point lead by halftime, 52-28.

With a 24-point lead at halftime, the Henry Mwinuka-coached side virtual shifted their focus to Game 2 on Friday, opting to slow down their offense and prioritize limiting APR’s scoring. Although APR won the third and fourth quarters 22-16, 21-15, respectively, the gap was too large for them to overcome.

Despite being the team’s leading scorer with 26 points, Branch Stephaun’s biggest plays come on the defensive end. He also recorded a team-high nine rebounds and three blocks in the game.

Captain Dieudonné Ndizeye Ndayisaba, known as Gaston, contributed 20 points, including 4 three-pointers. The Rwandan forward made 6-15 field goals, including 4-9 from behind the arc, and was perfect from the foul line, going 4-4.

Gaston added 9 rebounds to his stellar offensive plays to lead by example.

Steven Hagumintwari excelled in perimeter defense and also chipped in 16 points. The Patriots’ standout defender was flawless in his shooting, as he shot 3-3 from behind the arc and 3-3 from the free-throw line.

On the other side, APR’s Aliou Diarra and Isaiah Jaleel Miller scored 19 points apiece.

Game 2 is scheduled for Friday, September 13, at 7 p.m. local time at BK Arena.

The best-of-seven series will determine the 2024 league champions.