Friday Semi-finals Men REG vs APR 2pm Patriots vs IPRC Kigali 7pm Women IPRC Huye vs APR 11:30 The Hoops vs Ubumwe 16:00 Henry Mwinuka, the head coach of Rwanda Energy Group (REG) basketball club, has urged his players to approach their semi-final game against APR like ‘it is a do-or-die affair’. REG and APR face-off in the men’s first semi-final of the 2019/20 BK Basketball National League this afternoon, starting at 2pm, with both sides fighting for a spot into Saturday’s final. The game starts at 2pm, at Kigali Arena. Speaking to Times Sport on Thursday, REG head coach Henry Mwinuka said: “We have to play [against APR] with all that we got, it is a do-or-die affair. It is a must-win game.” “The ultimate goal is to lift the title, winning the semi-final will give our players confidence to face anyone in the final.” Mwinuka’s REG, champions of the 2016/17 league season, marched unbeaten into the semi-finals on Wednesday after winning 87-54 over IPRC Musanze in their final Group A game. On the other hand, APR advanced to the last four as runners-up in Group B after losing once – against Patriots – and winning two games. The army side wrapped their group campaign with a resounding 105-78 victory over Espoir. In a separate interview, APR head coach Aime Karim Nkusi stressed that “This is a very crucial game, which makes it a tough one for both sides. We are going to give it our very best shot for victory, and everyone on the team is ready for the challenge.” He added: “We want to win the title, but the focus right now is on the semi-final game.” In another semi-final crunch, two-time reigning champions Patriots will be up against IPRC Kigali – starting at 6pm. Patriots finished as Group B leaders, whereas IPRC Kigali were runners-up of Group A. Women’s semi-finals Meanwhile, in-form IPRC Huye face reigning champions APR in the women’s first semi-final at 11:30am, while the Hoops Rwanda delight former champions Ubumwe at 16:30pm. All the games will be played at the magnificent Kigali Arena.
