Michael Andre Dixon was on fire in the Patriots’ win against APR BBC on Friday night. Dixon went off for 20 points on 53% shooting and led six Patriots players in double figures.
KIGALI, August 11, The Patriots rout their brand-new city rivals APR BBC in the quest for the top seed position as both teams already secured a playoff berth in the 2023 Rwanda Basketball League season.
Dixon Michael Andre, Jean Victor Mukama, Ater James Majok, Steven Hagumintwari, Dieudonné Ndizeye Ndayisaba, and Kendall Gray all scored in double digits to give the Patriots the new rivalry bragging rights.
Five APR BBC players—Prince Ibeh, De Marcus Holland, William Robeyns, Ntore Habimana, and Rolly Fula Nganga—also registered double-digit scoring.
- Check out this link for further details about this game’s statistics.
APR’s aspirations of finishing top in the league’s regular season may have been dashed last night. A top finish was ultimately their goal to ensure that they would face Espoir BBC in what might be considered an easy path to the playoff finals.
However, the Patriots were too dominant in many facets of the game, out-rebounded them 49-32 and shot 35-of-61 field goals compared to APR’s 27-of-76, leaving them with no chance to lead the game for almost the entire game.
Michael Andre Dixon, a Georgian international born in the United States, excelled in this game. In 34 minutes on the floor, the 2022 BAL MVP scored 20 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, provided 5 assists, and stole 6 balls.
Ater James Majok, Dixon’s former US Monastir teammate and Lebanon International, made his league debut in this game, becoming the first NBA draftee to ever compete in the Rwanda Basketball League.
Majok, the 2022 BAL defensive player of the year, was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011. He’s in land of Thousand Hills to help the Patriots overcome REG dominance and win the league title they last won in 2020.
Majok’s Patriots must defeat REG BBC on Sunday if they are to complete the regular season in pole position.
The playoffs are slated to tip off on August 18, with best-of-five series in the first round (semi-finals). If the Patriots defeat REG tomorrow as expected, the playoff semi-finals will be Patriots vs. Espoir and APR vs. REG.
The playoffs determine the league champion.
