BURUNDI’S Les Gazelles and Virunga of DR. Congo are part of ten clubs that have graced this year’s Gisembe Memorial tournament.

The annual event, held in memory of Espoir great Emmanuel ‘Gisembe’ Ntawungera and several basketball players, administrators and fans who perished during the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis kicked off yesterday at Amahoro Indoor courts.

Gisembe, a force to reckon with in the center position was one of many top basketball talents who died during the 1994 mayhem.

"He was one of the best players to grace Rwandan basketball. Together with his team mates, they had taken the sport to a whole new level,” said Espoir’s vice president Pierre Umunyangabe, who also coached Espoir between 1994 and 2004.

The clubs opened the tourney with a visit to one of the orphanages in Kicukiro.

After last minute exits by Basketball United Generation (BUG) and Burundi’s New Stars, the men’s contingent  is down to four; defending champions APR, CSK, Espoir and Virunga while Les Gazelles and APR make up the ladies’ legion.

Kigali Institute of Education (KIE) and Lycee de Kigali will contest for the junior accolade after eliminating APR and St. Andre respectively.

In last year’s final, Cliff Owuor’s Indomitable Lions eased to a 74-48 win over fallen giants Espoir to comfortably retain their crown.

Espoir was in touching distance at half time (29-24) but APR opened up their scoring wheels in the third and fourth quarters to sail home.

The three-day event has been jointly sponsored by CNLG, the ministry of sports and culture, MMI and Belvedere.

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