Saturday

REG Vs Stade Malien 4pm Kigali-Time

Kwara Falcons Vs AS Douanes 7:30 Kigali-Time

With Rwanda Energy Group (REG) currently in incredible form in the Sahara Conference of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), club head coach Dean Murray is cherishing the possibility of topping the conference, but insists he should take it one game at a time.

The Rwandan representatives are the unbeaten side in the conference, having won all of the three matches they have played so far in Dakar, before they play the fourth one against Stade Malien on Saturday, March 18.

"Our first goal was to qualify for the BAL finals in Kigali. Now our goal is to win the next game against Stade Malien," Murray told Times Sport in an interview.

"If we win that game, then we have a chance to go for the number one seed. Of course we want to finish as the highest seed but we have to win the fourth game to have a chance for the top seed. We are focused on Malien for now," he added.

REG goes into Saturday’s game guaranteed a ticket to the playoffs that will take place in Kigali in May whereas Stade Malien are yet to qualify.

The Rwandan champions fought to be in the privileged position they are now, after beating the Falcons (64-48), Abidjan Basket Club (80-73) and AS Douanes (69-55).

Murray’s men now want to finish the campaign unbeaten, just like they did last season. It will, however, depend on how they fare in their final two conference games against Stade Malien and US Monastir.

The Rwandan champions’ ability to fight back, and their perseverance, have been crucial. At times, they had their backs against the wall, but they managed to turn things around.

Ranking

REG 6 points

Abidjan Basket Club 5 points

US Monastir 5 points

As Douanes 4 points

Stade Malien 4 points

Kwara Falcons 3 points