National basketball league title hopefuls IPRC-South have intensified preparations ahead of their league clash against defending champions Espoir when the second round gets underway on Saturday at Amahoro indoors stadium.

Should IPRC- South win the game, it will be a third consecutive victory over the four-time reigning champions since last November. The Huye-based outfit beat Espoir 83-64 in the preseason tournament final on November 22, 2015 and 64-55 in the league earlier this month.

Speaking to Times Sport on Saturday, Didier Bineza, the IPRC-South head coach said the team is training more seriously than the usual and players understand well the meaning and magnitude of the game.

"We are doing all we can to be in the best shape possible for the game, players and the coaching staff are up for the task. We still have a week to prepare and players,” said Bineza, who, at 26-year old, is the youngest head coach in the local league.

Asked if he is contented with his current squad and if he doesn’t need any new signing before the start of the league second round, Bineza said, "We are doing just fine, we would love to have two new signings, a point-guard and center but we can’t afford them right now.”

As it stands, unbeaten Patriots BBC top the table with 18 points, IPRC- South with one point behind in second place, Espoir are third with 16 points while IPRC-Kigali sit on fourth position with 15 points, one head of fifth-placed APR.

Last year’s first runners-up and currently struggling Cercle Sportif de Kigali (CSK) are rooted at the bottom of the ten-team league table with 8 points.

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