REIGNING CHAMPIONS Espoir basketball club have intensified preparations ahead of the inaugural GJ (Dr. George Jones) Sports Medical Centre tournament scheduled for February 13-16 at Nyayo indoor stadium in Nairobi, Kenya. 

Dubai-based Dr George Jones recently launched his entry into Africa by unveiling his ‘transform minimally invasive surgery centre’ in Nairobi. He Nyamirambo-based Espoir were invited following two successful seasons during which they won back-to- back two league and two play-offs titles.

Coach Jean Bahufite’s team also won the 2012 Fiba Africa Zone V championships.

"We have been training for the last two weeks in order to put ourselves in a good position to vie for the title,” Espoir captain Aristide Mugabe told this paper on Tuesday.

The 2012 national league MVP also claimed that the team is in good shape after winning 86-46 over United Basketball Generation (UGB) on Sunday in a warm-up match.

Meanwhile, Espoir have added Kigali basketball club (KBC) star player Mike Buzangu to their already impressive lineup.