IPRC-Kigali Basketball club head coach John Bahufite has fired a warning to his rivals that his team are still in the title race in the ongoing basketball national league.

The tactician made the remarks shortly after his side edged three-time reigning champions Patriots 76-69 on Saturday, September 25, at Kigali Arena. 

Congolese Center Amisi Saidi grabbed 25 points and contributed 14 rebounds to spur IPRC-Kigali to the crucial win while Olivier Turatsinze and Bruno Nyamwasa added 12 and 11 points respectively.

Saturday’s victory saw the Kicukiro-based side go second in Group A with 19 points, three points adrift of Group A leaders Patriots, while United Generation Basketball (UGB) sit in third place with 16 points.

In an exclusive interview with Times Sport, Bahufite said that the fact that his club comprises a mix of young and experienced players gives him confidence that his team can compete until the last day of the season.

"The title race is very tight but open, and my side wants to dethrone giants like REG and Patriots. We have to play our part, win all our remaining games if we are to increase our chances of winning the title,” Bahufite said.

"My players showed maturity and determination in the win against Patriots and we want to build a winning momentum from there and focus on the next games. If we don’t win the league, we will put all the focus on the play-off games,” he noted.

IPRC-Kigali has two remaining group fixtures including Shoot 4 Stars on October 2 before playing their last game against Tigers the following day.