Basketball: REG, APR face-off in GMT final
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Head coach Aime Karim Nkusi (middle) hopes to end APRu2019s 7-year title drought. Sam Ngendahimana.

Today

Men Third place playoff Patriots vs Espoir 11am

Final REG vs APR 5pm

Women Ubumwe vs IPRC-South 3pm

There will be no love lost today as league rivals Rwanda Energy Group (REG) and APR lock horns in the final of this year’s Genocide Memorial Tournament at Amahoro indoor stadium. The game start at 5pm.

Both sides reached the final on Friday night after eliminating their opponents in epic semifinal matches at Amahoro stadium in Remera.

Last year’s finalists REG bundled out holders Espoir in a comfortable 84-62 victory, after dominating every quarter; 18-16, 25-14, 20-15 and 21-17 respectively.

Shooting guard Benjamin Mukengerwa contributed 21 points for the Energy Group while Bienvenu Ngandu and Kami Kabange contributed 19 and 14 points respectively. Youngster Emile Kazeneza topped Espoir’s scorers with 20 points.

On the other hand, Aime Karim Nkusi’s APR stunned newly crowned league champions Patriots 75-71 (14-17, 16-6, 17-21 and 24-21), thanks to a career high 30 points from Eric Munyaneza. Captain parfait Ishimwe added 17 points.

Patriots’ Kenyan-born forward Michael Ongea Makiadi posted 17 points whereas Rwanda international Aristide Mugabe contributed 16 points.

IPRC- South will face Ubumwe in the women’s final at 3pm.

The top four teams in both the men and women categories automatically qualify for the regional edition, scheduled immediately after the local segment, and will attract teams from the region.

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