2022 has been a year of mixed fortunes in Rwandan basketball on both local and intentional scenes.
From the Rwandan Energy Group (REG)’s dominance on the domestic level and APR’s big money transfer business, to the death of Patriots’ co-founder Richard Karimba, Times Sport looks at the key highlights that shaped the game in 2022.
REG’s domestic hegemony continues but...struggle at BAL
The Rwanda Energy Group (REG)-powered team established themselves a force to reckon with as they continue to dominate domestic basketball but their woes at the Basketball Africa League (BAL) raised questions on their elite status at the continental level.
The club may have had an impressive season after which they retained the 2022 national basketball league taking the domestic league title away from Patriots for the second time in a row but basketball enthusiasts still don’t get how the champions finished at the top of the 2022 BAL Sahara Conference ahead of Tunisian giants US Monastir but failed to impress during the finals held in Kigali in May.
REG, before their home supporters at BK Arena, lost to Cameroon’s Forces Armees et Police (FAP) in the quarterfinals leave thousands of home supporters in dismay.
US Monastir, who finished second behind REG in the Conference games, eventually won the championship beating Angola’s Petro de Luanda 83-72 in the final.
REG will be looking to regain the confidence of Rwandans when they return to the BAL 2023 looking more ambitious and committed to bounce back from last season’s disappointment.
Rwandan duo nominated for NBA training camp
Two Rwandan youngsters, Nelly Akaliza and Mike Lukwanga Mugalu were among 64 young basketballers that took part in a three-day NBA training camp held in Egypt in August.
Dubbed Basketball Without Borders (BWB), the program attracted 64 talented boys and girls from 26 African countries.
The duo is among basketball prospects that Rwanda could count on in the future given their quick rise in their development.
Lukwanga is a 17-year-old who plays as a center and was part of the U-18 national basketball team, while Akaliza, also 17, is a center as well who was part of the national team that represented Rwanda at the U-18 Zone V Afrobasket qualifiers in June 2022.
The youngsters were coached by NBA players Udoka Azubuike (Utah Jazz; Nigeria), Mo Bamba (Orlando Magic; U.S.; ties to Ivory Coast), 2017 NBA Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon (U.S.; Boston Celtics) and Grant Williams (U.S.; Celtics), as well as NBA Global Ambassador and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo (Democratic Republic of the Congo).
APR warn rivals with big trades
Basketball fans are going to watch a new-look APR BBC side that will only be looking to end their 12-year trophy drought next season.
The club made mega trades at the end of the 2022 season bringing in point guard Jean-Jacques Wilson Nshobozwabyosenumukiza and power-forward Axel Mpoyo from REG as well as point guard Ntore Habimana as the club looks to reinforce their squad ahead of next season.
The trio were joined by U-based Dan Manzi Kimasa and Bush Wamukota who joined the club early in December.
The start players’ move to APR left rivals REG and Patriots on alert that next season could be even more challenging with the army side’s eyes now set on winning the league and booking a ticket to represent Rwanda at the BAL next season.
Ruhamiriza officiates at NBA Summer League
Rwanda’s international basketball referee, Jean Sauveur Ruhamiriza, has a year to remember with the development of his refereeing career only getting better.
The Rwandese was named among referees who officiated at this year’s NBA Summer League held in July in Las Vegas.
He was in charge of the Detroit Pistons vs Washington Wizards game.
That was such a great step for the referee who previously officiated the FIBA Women’s U-19 World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary, becoming the second Rwandan international referee to officiate a Basketball World Cup event after Didier Shema Maboko, the former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Sports.
The passing of Patriots co-founder Karimba
Patriots and the entire basketball fraternity are still mourning the passing of club founding member Richard Karimba.
The 51-year-old died in January in a hospital in Kenya after a long fight with cancer, a death that various as "a big loss for the entire basketball community."
Karimba is survived by a wife and three children.
Mugabe retires from international basketball
Not anytime before basketball enthusiasts paid tributes to any Rwandan basketball player than they did when Aristide Mugabe announced his retirement from international basketball at the age of 34, putting an end to an 11-year career with the national team.
So many people hailed the veteran for his leadership on and off the pitch, leaving so many young basketball players looking up to him. They will be glad to see him back to the court tochlie as a coach although he has not announced what the future holds for him.
Mugabe currently plays for Patriots on club level.
The point-guard made his international debut for Rwanda in 2011 in the Afrobasket qualifiers.
In his prime, he was one of the key players in the national team, putting up important plays on the court, and served as a captain from 2013 to 2019.
He featured in three Afrobasket tournaments of 2011, 2013, and 2017.
He made his last appearance with the national team in March this year during the first window of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers that was held in Dakar, Senegal in March.