Espoir retain Hoops Play-offs title

Sunday Game Four Men Patriots 65-82 Espoir Women Ubumwe 46-60 APR Saturday Game Three Men Espoir 81-39 Patriots Women APR 63-65 Ubumwe ESPOIR Basketball Club (Men) registered a fourth successive regular league and playoff double after defeating Patriots 3-1 in the best-of-five finals series on Saturday evening. Meanwhile, APR beat Ubumwe Basketball Club to win the women’s Pay-offs crown at Amahoro indoor stadium. Debutants Patriots stunned the defending champions 81-74 in Game One but Jean Bahufite’s team bounced back to win Game Two, Three and Four 68-67, 81-39 and 82-65 respectively to retain the Play-offs title. The Nyamirambo-based outfit had also won the regular season league. It is Bahufite’s fourth successive title since he took over in 2012, and the 16th title for Espoir, who have dominated the national game in the last four years. Bahufite said, “It’s another happy day for me and the Espoir family at large, especially after losing in Game 1, we worked really hard and I do believe we deserved this title. It’s our fourth in a row and you can’t say we didn’t deserve it! “After this, we are shifting focus to the forthcoming Zone Five Club Championships,” the former national team assistant coach said. In the women’s league, eight-time league champions APR won the Play-offs crown after taking Game One, Two and Four 65-61, 65-64 and 60-46 respectively while Ubumwe claimed Game Three 66-63. This year’s FIBA Africa Zone Five Championships will be held in Kigali. As hosts, Rwanda will field four teams, two in men’s and two in women’s category. Espoir, CSK (men) with Ubumwe and APR in female category. Rwanda’s international and Espoir’s center, Olivier Shyaka was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2015 season, while Ubumwe’s Alice Muhongerwa scooped the accolade in the women’s category. Prizes Espoir and APR pocketed Rwf1.5 million each in total-Rwf 1m for winning the league and Rwf500, 000 for the Play-offs, while first runners-up Patriots (men) and Ubumwe (women) each walked away with Rwf1.1 million. Second runners-up APR (men) and The hoops Rwanda (women) were each given Rwf700.000. Team of the year: Men: Aristide Mugabe (Espoir), Mike Buzangu (CSK), Lionnel Hakizimana (Espoir), Olivier Shyaka (Espoir) and Bienvenue Ngandu (Espoir). Women: Sandra Kantore (APR), Cecile Nzaramba (IPRC-South), Alice Muhongerwa (Ubumwe), Nicole Urwibutso (UR-CASS) and Charlotte Umugwaneza (APR). editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Espoir retain Hoops Play-offs title