Saturday

Men’s finalEspoir 69-56 Patriots3rd place play-offIPRC- Kigali 68-63 UGB

Women

APR 63-50 The Hoops

Basketball powerhouse Espoir defeated archrivals Patriots in a highly contested final to win the local edition of this year’s Gisembe Genocide Memorial Tournament on Saturday night at Amahoro stadium.

The Nyamirambo-based side avenged the disappointment of losing the league title with a 69-56 win to claim their first trophy of the 2015/2016 campaign, having missed out two finals already, including to IPRC- South in the Pre-season tourney last November, and Patriots in Heroes’ Day in February.

Jean Bahufite’s side were quick from the blocks, taking a 17-0 after 4:57, before taking the first and second quarters 22-8 and 20-16 to go into the half time with a commanding 42-24 lead.

Returning for the second-half, Henry Mwinuke’s Patriots tried turning their fortunes around, claiming the third quarter 15-10 before both sides shared the final quarter 17-17, which enabled Espoir to win the crown they last won in 2014, having lost to Cercle Sportif de Kigali (CSK) in last year’s final.

Shooting guard Lionnel Hakizimana scored the game high 20 points while Patrick Buzangu added 17 for the victors. 

"My players did very well tonight, everyone on the team was perfectly up for the game, this is one of my best games of the season,” a visibly excited Espoir head coach Bahufite told Times Sport in a post-game interview.

Elsewhere, it took IPRC-Kigali overtime to defeat UGB 68-63 and claim the bronze medal place after regular time had ended in a 59-59 draw. Meanwhile, APR overpowered The Hoops Rwanda 63-50 to win the women’s title.

After the local edition, next up is the regional edition, which will also be held at Amahoro indoor stadium.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw