Sunday Men’s semi-finals Game 2 IPRC-Kigali 74-68 PatriotsIPRC-South 65-56 Espoir Saturday: Game 1 Espoir 76-71 IPRC-SouthPatriots 59-56 IPRC-Kigali The race to qualify for the men’s basketball playoffs finals remains finely balanced heading into the decisive game to be played on Friday in the best-of-three semi-finals series. The semi-final between regular season league champions, Patriots and IPRC-Kigali, who finished fourth in the regular season, is tied at 1-1. Patriots won Game 1 on Friday night 59-56, but they were stunned 74-68 in Game 2 on Sunday at Amahoro indoor stadium. Meanwhile, title holders Espoir won the Game 1 against Charles Mushumba’s IPRC-South 76-71 on Saturday, but the later recovered in Game 2 to win it 65-56 to tie the series at 1-1, to force the decisive Game 3, which will also be played on Friday. The best-of-five finals series will begin on Sunday at the National Paralympic Committee Gymnasium court, located at Amahoro national stadium. In the women’s finals series, Ubumwe Basketball Club, are one win away from claiming this year’s title after defeating defending champions, APR in Games 1&2 on Saturday and Sunday 55-52 and 52-48 respectively. Game 3 will be played on Sunday. For the third-place playoff, The Hoops Rwanda are odds on to win the title having registered two wins in Games 1&2 against IPRC-South. They won the first game 48-41 and the second, 56-52. editorial@newtimes.co.rw