The race for the fourth spot on the Rwanda Basketball League (RBL) table is getting hotter as teams fight to get a chance to participate in this year’s playoffs.
Three teams—Espoir, Tigers and Kepler are the teams tussling it out for the only slot remaining to join the usual suspects Rwanda Energy Group (REG), Patriots, and APR who seem to have seal their place in the playoffs.
Currently, the fourth place is occupied by Tigers with 25 points, followed by Espoir who are fifth with 24 while Kepler are in sixth place with 23 points.
Whereas Tigers have one game left to play, Espoir and Kepler have three games each, a factor that provides them with an advantage in the race.
On Friday night, Kepler pulled off a very significant result, edging Tigers with a nail-biting 85-84 victory at the Lycée de Kigali Gymnasium to showcase intent of finishing in top four.
Despite the win, the road to the playoffs still looks tricky for Kepler, just as it is for the rest of the three teams vying for the playoffs. Kepler’s final three games will be against Espoir, United Generation (UGB) and REG.
Espoir’s three remaining games are against Kepler, REG and UGB, while Tigers will conclude the regular season with a game against defending champions APR.
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Tigers will be hoping to pull off the magic to beat APR for them to increase their chances of securing a top four finish, while Espoir and Kepler will also be hoping to make the most of the three games remaining to reach the crucial stage.
While APR pose a major barrier for Tigers’ top four hopes, REG will be a big hindrance for both Espoir and Kepler which have to put the team out of their away in an attempt to keep their playoffs dream alive.
On an important note, Espoir stand a chance to finish in top three if they win all their games, because they already have a better head-to-head record against REG, who currently sit in third place, with a potential superior points difference.
Kepler are pushing to qualify for the playoffs on their debut season in topflight basketball while Espoir are looking to make it in the same stage on a back-to-back record, having done so last year.
The regular season concludes on September 7 before the playoffs get underway on September 13.