Sunday

IPRC- South 42-57 EspoirUR- CASS 67-46 30-PlusAPR 62-57 RusiziUR- CoE 39-57 Patriots

Saturday

IPRC-Kigali 74-47 30-PlusCSK 88-41 UR-CoEEspoir 90-47 RusiziUR-CASS 49-62 IPRC- South

Three-time reigning basketball champions, Espoir defeated IPRC- South 57-42 in Huye district yesterday to stay top of the National Basketball League table and extend their winning run to 10 in eleven games.

In a very close first quarter of the game, the defending champions claimed it 11-10 before grabbing the second 15-9 to head into half-time with a 26-19 lead. IPRC narrowly bagged the third quarter 10-9 but Espoir responded well to win the final quarter 22-13.

Espoir’s Olivier Shyaka and Bienvenue Ngandu jointly scored a game high 14 points apiece while Yesman Bushiri and Bienvenue Ngabonziza scored ten and nine points for the losing side respectively. Jean Bahufite’s Espoir are in very good form after two wins in a row. Espoir on Saturday thrashed Rusizi 90-47.

In a post-match interview with this paper, Coach Bahufite acknowledged that the game was very intense and congratulated his players for a job well done.

"The game was so tight, IPRC are a good team and we knew they would cause us trouble but thanks to my players for overcoming the hurdle. We need to get better and more focused every day as we are battling for a treble this season,” Bahufite said.

Elsewhere, University of Rwanda- College of Arts and Social Sciences (UR- CASS) who lost 62-49 to IPRC- South on Saturday bounced to sink 67-46 struggling 30-Plus at UR- Huye campus gymnasium to register their third victory of the season while joint table leaders Patriots BBC beat 57-39 University of Rwanda- College of Education.

As it stands, Patriots and Espoir sit at the helm of the log with 21 points each, two points ahead of IPRC- South who are in third-place.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw