Today Espoir vs Rusizi - 9am

Espoir host Rusizi in the last basketball league match of the regular season this morning at Kigali Institute of Science and Technology courts.

Rusizi face a tough hurdle to overcome already crowned champions Espoir, who are looking to complete an unbeaten regular season for the third year running.

The South Province-based side (Rusizi) is hoping to stun the three-time reigning champions so as to book a ticket to the playoffs. Defeat for them would hand that spot to United Generation Basketball (UGB).

"We have prepared for this match the best way possible and we know that winning is very important for us, we are going to do everything possible to win but it’s going to be tough against the champions,” Rusizi coach Jean Bosco Bahati told Sunday Sport.

Should Espoir beat Rusizi, UGB will finish fourth and earn ticket to the play-offs at the expense of Bahati’s team thanks to their superior scoring average. 

In the first round league game, UGB beat Rusizi 70-64, while the later won the second round clash 90-86 score. Both sides will finish with 32 points apiece in case Rusizi lose today. Espoir, CSK and APR are three teams that have already qualified for play-offs.

Espoir top the standings with 38 points, three ahead of second-placed CSK, while APR finished with 33 points.