Espoir face New Stars in Zone V semis

DEFENDING champions Espoir appear well placed to overcome the semi-final hurdle in New Stars from hosts Burundi this afternoon and land a final berth at the 2013 FIBA Africa Zone V Club Championships in Bujumbura.

Thursday, August 08, 2013

Men, TodaySemi-finalsEspoir     vs     New StarsUrunani     vs     Warriors DEFENDING champions Espoir appear well placed to overcome the semi-final hurdle in New Stars from hosts Burundi this afternoon and land a final berth at the 2013 FIBA Africa Zone V Club Championships in Bujumbura.The Rwandan side, which won all its preliminary games in Pool A, faces New Stars who were runner-ups in Pool B with three points.Espoir’s head coach Jean Bahufite said yesterday, "We are a bit stronger compared to our next opponents and we think we will power into the finals.”But he insisted there was no feeling of complacency in the team. "Our focus is on successfully defending our title. We are not taking any team for granted, we are always determined to get good results and that’s what we will be trying to do again tomorrow (today).”In the other semi final, Warriors from Uganda who topped Group B having won all their games, face tricky Burundian side Urunani, winners of the 2013 Rwanda Gisembe memorial tournament.In last year’s championships, Warriors needed overtime to hold off Urunani 85-82 in the final game of the group stage but failed to reach the semis. In the women category, Rwanda’s APR finished bottom of their group after losing their last match against Eagle Wings of Kenya 71-27.By press time, KCCA and ISIU were yet to know their respective semi final opponents.