Don’t celebrate going top, Mwinuka warns Patriots
Wednesday, February 08, 2023
Patriots head coach Henry Mwinuka talks to his players during the match. The Tactician has warned his team not to take anything for granted. File

Patriots head coach Henry Mwinuka has warned his team not to take anything for granted despite enjoying a 83-61 success over Espoir on Sunday, February 6, to stay top of the table.

The victory moved Patriots past Rwanda Energy Group (REG) to claim the top spot of the national basketball league with 13 points.

Mwinuka admitted that the win was another remarkable step towards Patriots in the race for the title but cautioned his men to remain focused on next fixtures instead of celebrating one of their best victories so far this season.

"But we can’t start celebrating now because nothing has been won yet,” Mwinuka told Times Sport.

"This is one of the best wins we have since the season started, but we don’t want to lose focus. We have to stay calm and focused until the end of the season. We are happy to be on top.

The Tanzanian tactician hailed his players for showing winning character in last weekend's victory over Espoir.

"We played very well against a determined team, but we dominated from start to finish and I am happy with the players’ effort and determination,” he said.

"We have to be focused on the next game. We cannot take things for granted against any team, and now we have to study our next opponents and try to get a good result.”

Mwinuka won three league championships with Patriots before he joined REG last where he spent two seasons to rejoin Patriots for a second spell.

Table

Patriots 13 points

REG 12 points

Espoir 12 points

Kigali Titans 12 points

APR 10 points

Tigers 10 points

Orion 9 points

UGB 8 points

Shoot for the Stars 7 points

IPRC-Musanze 7 points

IPRC-Huye 6 points

IPRC-Kigali 5 points.