Rwandan basketball powerhouse Patriots have forfeited Game 1 of the third-place playoffs against Espoir after failing to show up at BK Arena on Sunday.

The two teams are supposed to play a best-of-three series which will determine who finishes in third place in the basketball league, after they were eliminated by current finalists APR and Rwanda Energy Group (REG) from semi-finals stage of the playoffs last week.

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The first match was of the series was expected to take place on Sunday afternoon, September 3, at BK Arena but Patriots did not show up at the venue, forcing the referees to announce that the team had forfeited the match.

Espoir was, as a result, awarded a 20-point win.

Ernest Ntaganda, the technical commissioner at local Basketball governing body (FERWABA) said that the Patriots did not inform them about their absence from for the match.

"The law says that the team that forfeits a game is penalised with a 20-point loss and a fine of Rwf300,000," he said.

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Ferwaba is waiting for the second game of the series to see whether the Patriots will turn up. If they don't, Espoir will be awarded another 20-point win and be announced winners of the series.

ALSO READ: Playoffs: REG sweep Espoir BBC to advance to the finals.

Times Sport tried to reach out to the president of the club Clement Ndamage for a comment on his club’s absence from the match but efforts to get feedback were futile.