Tuesday, July 9

Quarterfinals results

APR 111-64 Azomco

Patriots 78-77 Kepler

REG 91-76 UGB

Espoir 76-71 Tigers

Small forward Dieudonne Ndizeye scored a game-high 18 points as the Patriots registered a nail-biting 78-77 victory over Kepler on Tuesday evening, July 9, to reach the semi-finals of the inaugural edition of the Rwanda Cup.

The two teams came into the ultimate quarter-finals clash locked in, both chasing a ticket the semi-finals.

Patriots were trailing Kepler 39-51 the break and it was not until the last five minutes of the fourth quarter when the former Rwandan champions made a dramatic turnaround to win the thriller by just one point to send the Lycée de Kigali Gymnasium crowd into a frenzy.

Henry Mwinuka will thank Ndizeye who showcased his class as he rose to the occasion to score 18 points in the game. And, with more contributions from William Perry and Cadeaux de Dieu Furaha who scored 16 and 14 points respectively, Patriots walk away with a hard-fought win against a stubborn Kepler side whose key players left it all on the floor.

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Done Carlos Alejandro, for instance, scored 20 points as his team tried to put up a fight, but things didn&039;t go in the Green’s favor.

Patriots will now face rivals APR in the semifinals on August 7. The army side qualified for the last four after humbling Azomco 111-64 in the quarterfinals.

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In other games, Espoir confirmed their ticket to the semi-finals after overcoming Tigers 76-71 on Tuesday. They will next face REG advanced edged United Generation (UGB) 91-76.