Saturday

Men

IPRC- South 82-64 UR- CASS

Women

IPRC- South 48-51 UR- CASS

Newcomers, IPRC-South men’s team started in the national basketball league with a home 82-64 win over neighbours University of Rwanda’s College of Arts and Social Sciences (UR- CASS) on Saturday.

Integrated Polytechnic Regional Center- Southern Province (IPRC-South) came from 36-25 half-time deficit to beat UR- CASS 82-64. UR-CASS won first quarter 17-14 and the second 19-11 but the debutants recovered to take the third and fourth quarters 21-17 and 36-10 respectively.

IPRC-South’s Bienvenue Niyonsaba scored the game high 28 points while teammates Yesman Bushiri and Herves Ikishatse added 22 and 18 points respectively to help their team off to a winning debut.

Speaking to Times Sport after the game, IPRC-South coach Didier Bineza praised his players and challenged them to get ready for a long campaign.

"Congratulations to my players, they did exactly what I told them to do. However, we have to stay focused and take one game at a time,” he said.

In women’s league opening match, IPRC-South lost 51-48 to UR- CASS. In the meantime, Rwanda Allied Peace for Progress (RAPP), who finished second last season have pulled out of the league due to financial constraints.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw