At just 19, Brigitte Nibishaka was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2024 regular season of the Rwanda Women’s Basketball League (RWBL) just few months after graduating from high school. She was at the time plying her trade at former school Groupe Scolaire Marie Rene Rwaza, and put in a miraculous performance that eventually guided the team put a third-place finish at the end of the regular season, despite facing stiff competition from big teams. Nibishaka is also steadily rising to become a key player for Rwanda. She established herself as a standout player at the national team, from youth basketball levels. She, for example, put in stellar performances for Rwanda during the U18 Afrobasket held in South Africa in 2024, where she averaged 18.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Such is Nibishaka’s current story with which you wouldn’t imagine that she had a very humble rise from a tender age, having grown up in an ordinary family from a rural suburb in Kayonza District where she would find it hard to even get basketball shoes because her parents couldn’t quite afford them besides the fact that they barely understood that their daughter would make a living out of her basketball career. ALSO READ: Rwandan duo lands basketball scholarships to France Nibishaka attended primary school at Groupe Scolaire Muzizi in Kayonza District before moving Group Scolaire Marie Reine Rwaza to continue her studies in secondary school. She finished senior six in 2024 in Mathematics, Biology, and Chemistry (MCB) combination. It was in 2017, while a primary school student at GS Muzizi, when she was attracted by the shoot for stars’ program, an initiative based at the school, affiliated to the Shoot 4 Stars non-profit organization which assists young people, especially women, to unleash their full potential in basketball. At first, she tried playing a center role, inspired by videos of long-serving APR and national team captain Charlotte Umugwaneza. ALSO READ: Morgan, Byukusenge lead 2024 women basketball league individual awards “Growing up, I watched Umugwaneza because, at school where I studied, they would show videos of players of the league. I liked how Umugwaneza played,” she told Times Sport in an interview. “She is capable of playing in various positions, something that I want to add to my game.” During her primary school days, Nibishaka always visited Marie Rene Rwaza secondary school’s court to play interschool competitions, little did she know that the school was going to be her next destination for her career. In 2021, courtesy of her talent, she was admitted at the school and joined their ambitious project that not only focused on developing basketball talents but also provided the opportunity for them to compete in the national league. The school had in impressive debut to the national basketball league. They finished 5th in 2022/2023 season. Nibishaka was also enjoying a remarkable breakthrough where she was awarded the top rebounder award with 284 rebounds in the league. The team shone even more in the 2024 season where they finished third in the league, only behind champions APR and Rwanda Energy Group (REG). “2024 was a very good year for me, because that was when I worked hard and put in a lot of effort and, with the support of my coaches, I was able to help my team finish the season in third place,” she noted. After such heroics at club national team levels, Rwanda Basketball Federation (FERWABA) offered Nibishaka and her counterpart Rebecca Cyuzuzo full scholarships to continue their basketball development at the Tango Bourges Basket (TBB) Academy in France. With the scholarships, the duo will be able to not only improve their basketball skills and but also further their education. Their selection follows an impressive performance while representing Rwanda at the U18 Africa Basketball Championship that took place in Pretoria, South Africa, in September 2024. Going forward, Nibishaka wants to take up a more central role in the national team, emulating country's top players like Bella Murekatete, Sifa Ineza and Hope Butera among others.