Saturday 

May 21 

REG Vs FAP 6pm 

Petro de Luanda Vs AS Sale 2pm 

Rwanda Energy Group Basketball Club will be taking on Cameroon’s Forces Armées et Police (FAP) Basketball Club on  Saturday at 6pm as the playoffs of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) tipoff at the Kigali Arena.

REG goes into the tie with expectation to continue building on the impressive performances they put up in the earlier stages of the tournament where they topped the Sahara Conference in March.

FAP qualified for this stage of the competition as  fourth in the Nile Conference, something that meant they had to be matched with the best team from the Sahara Conference.

In a press conference held on Friday ahead of the playoffs, Robert Pack, the head coach of REG said:

"We have been working really hard over the last few months. The buildup games in Turkey helped us prepare for different teams."

He described FAP as a good team that plays hard and a closed game but noted that his team is at the competition to give the best to the fans.

"We are coming in with a winning mindset. We want to take game by game. We are in a good place. I am looking forward to the local fans bringing in crazy energy," he said.

Elie Kaje the team captain of REG said:

"We are not satisfied with what we achieved last year. Our country has challenged us with hosting this competition. We don't want to be remembered as hosts but as Champions.

Except for Cape Town Tigers, REG and SLAC, the other five teams have featured in the inaugural BAL last year in Kigali.

In another game of the day, Petro de Luanda and AS Salé, two former African champions, will open the 2022 BAL Finals (2pm) in what is expected to be a highly contested encounter.