A massive rivalry continues as Patriots BBC and REG BBC tussle it out in the final of the BKBNL closing tournament.
History is repeating itself as it was last year when Patriots and REG were the two clubs that competed for the Basketball League title. The two sides are back at it in a new format that we can call playoffs even though this time, there will be a single game.
The semi-finals in both men’s and women’s categories were played yesterday Friday, October 23, 2020. The first match saw RP-IPRC(W) Huye play against APR BBC(W) and the army side was the first to drop out in the race to the finals. IPRC Huye team captain, Sandra Nelly Nsanzabaganwa scored 19 points help his team overcome rivals 67-52 to secure a spot in the finals.
The second game of the day was in the men’s category. REG beat APR 75-68. This match’s highlight was an outstanding performance from REG and Rwanda National Team Power forward, Kami Kabange Milambwe who scored 24 points and new recruit Aden Faisal Jama who scored 18 points while APR’s Isom Cedrick scored 13 points and provided 10 assists.
In the third game and second semifinal for women’s category, The Hoops eliminated Ubumwe to set up an iconic final against the invincible IPRC Huye. In this match, coach Mutokambali’s Ladies succeeded to stop Rose Akon who exhibited a high-level performance in these games. Rose Akon scored 13 points in this match and this is the lowest score from her since the start of the tournament on October 18. The Hoops’ Ebengo Feza, didn’t miss any single minute of the game as she played 40 minutes, she recorded the highest score of the game too, 29 points and 25 rebounds. The match ended 69-53 in favour of Hoops Rwanda.
The last match of the day was between Patriots and IPRC Kigali. We have seen IPRC Kigali beat the Patriots in the regular season. The first surprise was the absence of Buzangu Mike of IPRC Kigali due to the number of foreigners (only 2 foreigners are allowed to be used in a match). Coach Bahufite Jean chose to use a young Burundian Point Guard, Benit Nijimbere.
In this match, the Patriots beat IPRC Kigali in all the Quarters with the help of their rich squad where they rotated players from the start to the end of the match. In their 88 points scored, the Patriots had 35 points from the bench which is almost 40% of all the points they scored. Said Amisi’s 19 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block were not enough to hand IPRC Kigali a win. On the other side, Kenneth Gasana put the ball 18 points through the hoop in the 17 minutes he played.
The final games are scheduled today on October 24, 2020. IPRC Huye vs The Hoops Rwanda and REG vs Patriots. And the question is, will Mutokambali lead the Hoops to their first-ever league title or will IPRC Huye clinch the trophy with an unbeaten record. In both the regular season and this tournament created to conclude the BKBNL, IPRC Huye have never recorded a lose.
In men’s category, basketball fans are excited to see if REG coach Henry Mwinuka, who won last year’s trophy with the Patriots, can give REG their second league title. Last season, the Patriots with Coach Mwinuka came from down 3-1 and won the league title 3-4 in the playoffs. This prompted REG to immediately acquire the services of coach Henry Mwinuka. Moreover, the former KIU Titans and Patriots coach has three league titles in the last 4 seasons.
The Rivalry continues today.
