Friday, October 4

Finals

Game 1: REG W 68-67 APR W (REG W lead the series 1-0)

Kenyan small forward Victoria Reynolds scored a game high 16 points as her side Rwanda Energy Group beat APR 68-67 in nail-biting Game 1 of women’s betPawa finals on Friday night, October 4.

REG now lead the series 1-0 in the best-of-seven finals.

Charles Musuhumba’s APR started the game with energy, winning the first quarter 22-15 but REG quickly responded and fought back to claim the second quarter 25-8 to open a 10-point lead with at the break.

Returning for the second half, APR reduced the deficit to 7 points after taking the third quarter 16-13 and last quarter 21-15.

The military side lead by top scoring skipper Charlotte Umugwaneza, piled pressure on Julian Martinez’s side pushing for a comeback at the death.

They were trailing REG 67-68 with just three seconds to play. Umugwaneza, who led the scoring with 17 points on the night, nearly snatched the winning bucket but she wasted the chance to APR fans’ disbelief as Rosine Micomyiza run to make a steal that won the game for REG at the buzzer.

Besides Reynolds, Micomyiza and point guard Philoxy Destiney also contributed 11 and 12 points respectively to the winning side while Malian Small forward Diakite Kamba and Assouma Uwizeye added 16 and 14 points respectively for APR.

ALSO READ: BetPawa playoffs: REG women, APR square off in finals

REG are unbeaten in the playoffs this season and they will be looking to extend their series lead in Game 2 of the finals come Sunday, October 6 at Petit Stade.

The champions will represent Rwanda at the 2024 Africa Zone Five club championship scheduled between October and November.