Rusizi beat CSK to close gap on Espoir

SundayAPR 20-0 30-Plus (forfeit)UGB 65-79 EspoirRusizi 66-46 CSKSaturdayKBC 20-0 30-Plus (forfeit)FridayEspoir 56-40 APRRusizi basketball club beat the former champions Circle Sportif de Kigali (CSK) 66-46 yesterday in Rusizi to close the gap on the league leaders and defending champions Espoir to four points with three matches left to play in the regular season.The Western Province side started brightly and took the first quarter 27-9, but CSK came back strongly to win the second and third quarter 7-14, 13-14 respectively. However, the hosts were not down as they won the fourth quarter 19-9.Forward Guillain Bushiru Rusizi scored a game high 22 points and Alphonse Habyarimana added 17 points for Rusizi, pushing the team to within one point behind second-placed KBC. Joseph Bukuru and Placide Kamuntu scored 21 and 9 points respectively for CSK.Elsewhere, the champions Espoir beat United Generation Basketball 65-79 at Kimisagara courts to maintain their unbeaten record in the league since the start of last season. UGB took the first quarter 19-12, but Jean Bahufite’s unbeaten side responded in the second and third quarters 29-13 and 20-14 respectively, while UGB won the fourth quarter 19-18.Another former champion, APR took free points after their would-be opponents 30-Plus failed to turn up at Amahoro indoor stadium for the game. It was the second successive game in as many days that the Kimisagara-based side fails to turn up for a league game without valid reasons.Three teams including Espoir, Rusizi and KBC still have a good chance to win the league title.Bahufite’s team has 24 points, three ahead of second-placed Kigali Basketball Club and four better than Rusizi. APR is in fourth position with 18 points, UGB follows with 15 points, while CSK has 14 points and 30-Plus is bottom of the seven-team table standing with 10 points.

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Rusizi beat CSK to close gap on Espoir