Rwanda Basketball League weekend wrap

Rwanda Basketball League weekend wrap
Pascal Niyonkuru lay up in REG vs S4S first leg match | Photo credit : Innocent SHEMA
Week three of the 2022 Rwanda Basketball League second leg brought plenty of excitement and upsets during the 9 games held at three courts including AIPER Nyandungu.

The Rwanda Basketball League Men’s and Women’s actions continued as REG BBC has moved into the top spot for the first time this season after picking up two more wins. They defeated Shoot For The Stars 99-75 before seeing off Rusizi 77-51. In the Women’s category, APR maintained their lead at the top of the table as they improved to an 8-1 WL record.

Friday night’s first game tipped off at Club Rafiki with REG BBC edging out Shoot For The Stars 99-75 (28-18, 31-12, 17-19, 23-26). S4S Small Forward, Jordan Yezakuzwe netted a game-high 32 points with REG’s captain Elie Kaje posting a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds and providing 8 assists.

The second game of the night saw IPRC Kigali get back on to the winning track with a 92-55 victory over the strugglers UR-CMHS. Bahufite’s side had been beaten in the previous match by the defending champions, REG 93-73.

Saturday had Espoir BBC taking on the Tigers in the game of the day, with Tigers’ new forward, Breitlauch Adrian dropping a 28 points game-high in a nail-biting win over Espoir BBC at AIPER Nyandungu court.

Earlier at the same venue, Shoot For The Stars, S4S thrashed UR-CMHS 100-46 while Rusizi, at home notched a convincing 60-41 victory over UR Huye.

Sunday featured the game in Rusizi, with the defending champions REG wrapping the weekend with an away win to Rusizi BBC. They beat them 77-51 and move to the top of the league with 13 wins in 14 games.

In the last game of the weekend, UR-CMHS went up against Espoir BBC. Clearly, Espoir had something to prove, taking the game in dominating fashion, 108-43.

In the 2020 Rwanda Basketball League women’s category, under the guidance of Rene Sahabu, G S Marie Reine recorded an away victory over UR-CMHS to improve to a 5-4 WL in this season while APR WBBC overwhelmed UR Huye 123-22 to maintain the first spot.

Some individual performances that were highlighted in the 2022 Rwanda Basketball League this weekend.
  •  In 37 minutes spent on the court, Jordan Yezakuzwe poured in 32 points even though his efforts were not enough to help his team, the defending champions overcomed Shoot For The Stars in a Friday night clash played at newly refurbished Club Rafiki
  • Thierry Munyeshuri scored 25 points with 5-9 3PT against the Tigers. A day later, He contributed 37 points in a win against UR-CHMS. Munyeshuri is currently the third-placed top scorer in the league so far
  • Samuel Niyonshuti dished out 17 assists in the game Shoot For The Stars beat UR-CMHS. The S4S Point Guard is leading the league in assists.
  • Against UR Huye, Laurence Imanizabayo scored 25 points in 18 minutes with 10-13 FG. The 25 points scored moved her into the league 5 top scorers
  • Elie Kaje nearly recorded a triple-double, finishing with 19 PTS, 13 REBS, and 8 assists in the Friday night game against S4S
  • Frank Kamndoh produced an impressive performance of 33 PTS, 21 REBS (including 9 offensive rebounds), 4 assists, and 4 blocks in the game S4S beat UR-CMHS. Frank, is last season’s best defender, and the number one shot-blocker in the league, furthermore, he is leading the scorers too.
  • Breitlauch Adrian contributed 28 points in the Tigers’ win over Espoir BBC. A German Basketball Player’s impact on the Tigers is distinguished as he averages 29.5 PTS in two games

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