Ubumwe stumble in first FIBA Zone V tie

After losing the opening game of the FIBA Zone V Club Championships against Burundi’s Berco Stars on Sunday at Amahoro indoor stadium, Ubumwe coach Charles Mushumba has urged his players to learn from the loss ahead of today’s clash against KCCA of Uganda.

Tuesday, October 06, 2015
Ubumwe's Nicole Rwibutso (R) goes for a shot against Berco Stars in the opening game of the Zone V Club Championships on Sunday. (S. Ngendahimana)

Today

Men

Savio (TZ)           vs   Ulinzi (Ken)   10am

KPA (Ken)           vs   Tiger (Uga)    12pm

Espoir (Rwa)        vs   Dynamo (Bur)  4pm

CSK (Rwa)          vs   Gezira (Egy)     8pm

Women

APR (Rwa)          vs   USIU (Ken)      2pm

Berco Stars (Bur)vs   Don Bosco (TZ) 4pm

Ubumwe (Rwa)    vs   KCCA (Uga)                6pm

Selected results 

Men

Espoir        70-59       Ulinzi

Gezira        82-52       KPA

Power (Uganda) 70 - 64 CSK (Rwanda)

City Oil (Uganda) 93-88 Espoir (Rwanda)

Women

Ubumwe    58-77       Berco Stars

KCCA  (Uganda) 55 -43 APR (Rwanda)

After losing the opening game of the FIBA Zone V Club Championships against Burundi’s Berco Stars on Sunday at Amahoro indoor stadium, Ubumwe coach Charles Mushumba has urged his players to learn from the loss ahead of today’s clash against KCCA of Uganda.

Title hopefuls Berco Stars, led by forward Florence Sifa Kalume, dominated the first quarter with 31-10 lead before grabbing the second quarter 16-12 to go into half time leading 47-22.

After half time, debutants Ubumwe looked sharper and took the third quarter 25-14 but Patrick Ngwijuruvugo’s Berco Stars recovered to claim the fourth quarter 16-11.

Berco Stars’ Kalume scored a game high 21 points while Alice Muhongerwa topped Ubumwe’s scoring sheet with 15 points.

In a post-match interview with Times Sport, Mushumba noted that, "Poor defending and unnecessary mistakes cost us badly in the first quarter and we never recovered from that, but I strongly believe we can do a lot better in the next game.”

"It’s not good to lose the first game but we’re learning through experience and now we have to put this defeat on the back of our minds and concentrate on Wednesday’s game against KCCA. The players need to stay positive because we still have four games to play,” he added.

In the men’s category, the 2012 winners Espoir began their campaign for a second regional title with a 70-59 victory over Ulinzi of Kenya.

Jean Bahufite’s Espoir won the first quarter 23-8 and the second 15-12 but the Kenyan military side bounced back to claim the last two quarters 17-16 and 22-16 respectively.

Power-forward Bienvenue Ngandu scored 15 points; Olivier Shyaka had 14 points for Espoir while Aristide Mugabe and Pascal Rurangirwa contributed 11 points each.

Ulinzi’s William Ochieng scored the game high with 26 points whereas Erick Mutoro and Ancetas Wafula added 13 and 8 points.

Egyptian giants Gezira thrashed Kenya’s KPA 82-52; City Oilers (Uganda) won 66-51 against Burundi’s Dynamo while Tiger Head Power of Uganda humiliated debutants NFEL of South Sudan with a massive 100-51 rout.

Yesterday, two other home teams, APR  and Cercle Sportif de Kigali lost to KCCA and Tiger Head Power respectively while Espoir lost to City Oilers in overtime.