FIBA-Africa Zone V: Ubumwe eye consistency after first win

Today selected fixtures WomenJKT Stars (Tz) vs Ubumwe (Rwa) 8am Men: Group APatriots (Rwa) vs National Engineering (S. Sudan) 8pm Group BEspoir (Rwa) vs Ulinzi (Ken) 12pm Sunday: WomenUbumwe 70-59 KCCA (Uga) After registering their first win at the ongoing FIBA-Africa Zone V Club Championship against Uganda’s KCCA on Sunday in Dar-es-Salaam, Ubumwe head coach Jacque Bahigye has urged his side to carry the winning mentality into the remaining fixtures as they aim to win the tourney for the first time. Rwanda’s sole women representatives had lost the opener against Kenya’s Kenya Ports Authority on Saturday, but bounced back to stun Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) 70-59 to boost their chances of finishing in the top two. Clubs competing in the women category include; Ubumwe, KPA and USIU (Kenya), JKT & Don Bosco (Tanzania) as well as UCU and KCCA (Uganda). The seven teams will face each other on a round robin format and the top two will not only contest the final but also qualify for the 2016 FIBA-Africa Club Championships that will be staged in Madagascar in December. On Sunday, Ubumwe, who are making a second appearance in the regional championship, claimed the first quarter 15-14 before both sides went into the first half break on a tie of 28 points apiece. Bahigye’s team, led by shooting guard, Ines Nezerwa upped their game in the third quarter taking it 20-13 and sealed the match after winning the fourth quarter 22-18. “We played a similar game like we did in the opener, controlling the whole game but unlike in the first game when we suffered from fatigue, today (Sunday) we were a bit fresh and I am happy that we have won,” Bahigye told Times Sport by phone from Dar es Salaam. However, he noted that, “We need to take this winning momentum into the remaining games if we’re to qualify for the final.” In the first game, Ubumwe lost to KPA 51-62 after playing the game in less than 16 hours following a two-day long journey by road from Kigali. The three Rwandan teams, also including Espoir and Patriots, departed for the one-week long tournament on Thursday morning and arrived in Dar es Salaam on Friday evening. The 2015 Rwandan women league champions will today face Tanzania’s JKT in the third game at 8am. Meanwhile in the men’s category, Patriots in Group A face National Engineering from South Sudan at 8pm while Espoir will play Kenya’s Ulinzi at 12pm. On Saturday, Espoir defeated Tanzania’s ABC 74-64 while debutants Patriots overcame Uganda’s UCU 73-66 in the late game and by press time, both sides were due to play their second games. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

Sports

FIBA-Africa Zone V: Ubumwe eye consistency after first win