APR’s Owour takes pressure off his players

TodayUGB vs Espoir 5:30pmKBC vs APR 7:30pmSaturdayUGB vs KIE 1pm30Plus vs Rusizi 3pmSundayNUR vs Rusizi 11amKIE vs CSK 11amWith one loss in seven games, APR head coach Cliff Owour feels his new-look young team is good enough to cause problems for any opposition in the league.The Kenyan trainer, made the remarks Wednesday ahead of today’s clash with the league reigning champions Kigali Basketball Club at Amahoro stadium indoor court.APR, like in football and volleyball, started the current season with a new policy of using only Rwandan players after releasing all foreign players including stars like Kami Kabange, Bievenu Ngambi who joined Espoir and Mike Buzangu, who signed for KBC.However, Owour, who has won the league twice with the army side, says he is happy with the way his youthful team is progressing.“I am happy with how the boys have performed so far, they are improving day by day, but for now we cannot ask such a young team to win the league. It is asking too much of them and putting them under unnecessary pressure.“We have a pretty good team with highly skilled players, with potential to develop into very good players, but most of them don’t have enough experience,” the former Kenyan international told Times Sport.He added, “We are not far from the leading team and I am happy with our position on the table. We need to keep close to the two teams ahead of us (Espoir and KBC).”“Winning the league takes more than just having a good team, and to be honest, we are not ready (yet) for the title this season. But by next year, we will be real challengers. It takes time for the young players adapt to a new philosophy,” Owour stressed.After seven matches, Espoir lead the league table standing with 14 points with Kigali Basketball Club on second position with 13 points, while APR are third with 12 points. UGB, 30-Plus and National University of Rwanda are on nine points; Rusizi is in position 8 with 7pts while Kigali Institute of Education comes last with 6pts.

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APR’s Owour takes pressure off his players