MARINE’S shocking decision to quit the league has not deterred Eric Kalisa from heaping praise on the club for their positive contribution towards the development of the sport.

The local basketball federation (Ferwaba) supremo hailed the Rubavu-based club for their competitive spirit and their ability to give local giants APR a run for their money.

"They were a good team. They had quality players but it was team work that normally propelled them to the top and we are certainly going to miss that,” Kalisa conceded.

"We are going to see to it that we have more clubs next year,” he added.

Presently, the league has eight active teams;  defending champions APR, Espoir, Kigali Cercle Sportif (CSK), National University of Rwanda (UNR), ISAE, Kigali Institute of Education (KIE), Rusizi and UGB.

Marine attributed their exit to financial reasons and managerial problems. "We have decided to take a temporary break from the league because we want to sort out a few issues in the club and then see where to go from there ,” the club president Major Theodomir Bahizi.

During their four-year spell in the league, Marine won the title in 2007, finished third in 2006 and were runners-up to APR in 2008 and 2009.

Meanwhile, defending champion APR will look to finish their season on a high when they clash with Espoir in a best of three play-offs final this weekend.

Ends