Hoops: Rutayisire memorial tourney to be held annually

Jean Guy Rutayisire Kigali Basketball Club and Rwanda Basketball Federation have agreed to hold the Jean Guy Rutayisire memorial tournament annually in honor of the former Kigali Basketball Club player who died in a fatal accident in March. Rutayisire, one of the best Basketball players in the country died when the car he was travelling in collided with a fuso as he and his teammates were on their way to Huye for a league game. The accident claimed five people with several others getting serious injuries and the Basketball league was suspended for several weeks as the entire Basketball fraternity and other Sports Associations mourned the victims. A tournament to honor Rutayisire and his departed colleagues was held last week with Espoir defeating Patriots 65-64 in the final. According to Kigali Basketball Club Chairman Callixte Rutajogerwa, the club and Basketball Federation have agreed to honor the departed players by holding a tournament every year. “We want to have this tournament every year, we want to recognize Rutayisire and his colleagues for what they did for this game,” Rutajogerwa said. Rutayisire played for Uganda’s most successful basketball club, Falcons between 2000 and 2005, before joining APR in 2005 until 2008, winning three league titles with the army side. editorial@newtimes.co.rw