Reigning league MVP Dieudonné Ndizeye scored 17 points as Patriots ran away with a dominant 77-48 win over Espoir in the Bank of Kigali Basketball National League on Sunday.

Guard Guibert Nijimbere and Steven Hagumintwari added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

In a post-game interview, Patriots coach Dean Glacus Murray heaped praise on his players: "We wanted to get off to a good start. Obviously, we have waited for 7 months and worked very hard in the last two weeks for this. I am happy with the way everyone played tonight.”

The two-time reigning champions have a rest day on Monday before they face APR on Tuesday.

Patriots are in Group B along with APR, Espoir and IPRC-South, and only two slots are up for the grabs to the semi-finals, which start on Thursday.

The other two semi-finalists will come from Group A that comprises REG, IPRC-Kigali, IPRC-Musanze and UGB.

Patriots squad before the Espoir game. /Courtesy