Two weeks ago, thousands of basketball enthusiasts were shocked as they were denied entry into the Amahoro Indoor Stadium to watch Game 5 of the men’s playoffs finals between eventual winners Patriots and Rwanda Energy Group.

Why? The turn-up of spectators was way beyond the 3,000-seater facility, which prompted the local basketball governing body (Ferwaba) to quickly look for alternatives.  

Needless to say, Game 6 and the epic Game 7 were held at Kigali Arena last weekend. And, overwhelmingly, both games saw the recently inaugurated state-of-the-art facility sold out.

Speaking to Sunday Sport this week, Patriots small forward Steven Hagumintwari said that the atmosphere and support at Kigali Arena contributed greatly to his team’s historic comeback from 3-1 down to retain the league title.

"I can safely say that, for sure, our fans are the ones who made us champions again. There has never been an atmosphere at a basketball game before like we witnessed at Kigali Arena, and that motivated us, players.

At the same time, the turn-up was proof that the level of basketball in Rwanda is also improving,” said the Rwanda international.

Patriots small forward Steven Hagumintwari (making the shot) says the atmosphere at Kigali Arena was overwhelmingly electric. / Sam Ngendahimana

The growing excitement about the game, which was at the centre of debate following the attendance to full 10,000-seat Kigali Arena capacity, has been on a steady rise over the last few years.

Allen Kabera has closely followed local basketball over the years, and he says the current hype about basketball today would have been a dream to the game three years ago, underlining that it is mainly due to the coming of Kigali Arena and the emerging of league sponsors.

"Just three years ago, the league was too amateur to attract sponsors. Those who bothered to follow the sport like me, we watched games almost at empty venues, yet entrance was even free,” he recalls.

"The turn up at games started to grow when sponsors started to take a leap of faith in the league. With the existence of Kigali Arena and the programmes that seek to nature young talents, I believe the basketball enthusiasm we are witnessing today will only grow.”

Meanwhile, Louisa Ester Mugabo, an avid Patriots fan, says that the 2018/2019 BK Basketball National League – and particularly the recent playoffs finals – proved that basketball has indeed become a national sport.

"The sport is now widely admired by the youth, proof that it will soon move from hype to culture. Patriots and REG put the competition in the playoffs finals to a whole new level, so everyone already looks forward to next season,” she said.

However, Desire Mugwiza, president of the Rwanda Basketball Federation (Ferwaba), insists the growing attendance to basketball games should not be taken a surprise, but rather a result of efforts invested over the last few years.

He explained that "The growing numbers at games has been a steady trend over the last two seasons. I think it is one of the reasons the Government decided to find a bigger facility.”

"Amahoro Indoor Stadium was more and more becoming too small for the growing fan base. And, with this pace, sometime in future Kigali Arena will also be small. Which, I guess, is a good problem to have.”

The Ferwaba boss is convinced that the thousands of fans and entertainment at Kigali Arena will not only push the league’s competition level to new heights, but it will also in the long run impact the level and performance of the national teams.

"The journey ahead is still long, but we now have all the required basics to ensure a bright future for basketball. The hard work continues.”

"We are committed to turning Rwanda into a basketball giant.”

Will the hype remain?

Mugwiza does not appear to be surprised by the current excitement of Rwandans about basketball and he is confident that what many may consider as hype will only get stronger.

"The huge turn-up we saw did not come by accident, it was a result of hard work and efforts to professionalise our game. And, the federation will continue to work with partners and sponsors to improve the experience for spectators at games.”

Mugabo, on the other hand, recommends Ferwaba to mainly focus on two things if the current enthusiasm is to stay on good collaboration between the federation and its partners as well as doing more in making the league and the clubs professional.

"The potential is there. Basketball has to graduate from being a passion to a profession – both for clubs and players.”

editor@newtimesrwanda.com