Espoir’s Shyaka warns against complacency

Espoir captain Olivier Shayaka has urged his teammates not to take any team lightly after they were made to sweat for a win against lowly United Generation Basketball (UGB) on Friday night at Amahoro Indoor Stadium in Kigali. The four-time league winners entered this game seeking to win to remain on top of the league table, especially coming off a very frustrating defeat at the hands of archrivals APR. However, the Nyamirambo-based side were forced to dig deep against a resilient UGB side that put up a spirited fight, with the game ending 88-69 in favour of Espoir. Yves Murenzi’s youthful side, who were looking for a second win this season having won one and lost three of their games so far, won the first quarter 21-18, thanks to their centre player Gustave Mizero, who scored six points. In the second quarter, both sides shared the spoils each dropping 18 points, hence giving UGB a 39-36 lead at the half-time break. However, coach Maximwe Mwizeneza’s title hopefuls, led by their captain Shyaka and power forward Bryan Mbanze came into the third quarter more determined and overpowered their opponents 25-15 points before running away with the fourth quarter on 27-15. Rwanda international Shyaka dropped a game-high 26 points and Mbaze contributed 18 points, while UGB’s forward Mizero and center Enock Isezerano scored 12 points apiece. On Saturday, APR continued their unbeaten run defeating Rusizi 55-48 while 30-Plus registered their first win of the season after beating bottom side and still winless Cercle Sportif de Kigali (CSK) 70-54.

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Espoir’s Shyaka warns against complacency