Friday

APR Vs IPRC-Kigali 7pm

REG Vs Patriots 9pm

Basketball fans are set for an epic battle as two local powerhouses Rwanda Energy Group (REG) and the Patriots renew rivalry during Friday night clash at the Lycee de Kigali gymnasium.

REG currently lead the league table with 19 points, while the Patriots are second with 19 points.

REG new head coach Dean Murray, the American tactician faces another test to prove his worth after he failed to register first win last week when his men fell to a dramatic defeat to APR.

The defending champions’ minor errors cost them the game and the American tactician told Weekend Sport that he has been working on improving their game during the training sessions ahead of Friday’s rendezvous.

Murray admits his game philosophy couldn’t work immediately against APR because he had not had enough time with his players.

But, now that his assistant has been helping him to understand his players, he hopes Friday’s game against Patriots will be different

"I just didn't know the players at the time, so hopefully we can have a better rotation this time,” Murray said in an interview.

"We had put in a couple plays at the end of the game (APR game) and it was just like we were doing stuff like the day before and we just didn't, didn't know what we were doing,” he added.

Murray could rely on the services of new signing Delwan Graham who joined the club earlier this week although it’s not confirmed yet whether he will feature.

Murray described him as a player who gives a lot in terms of scoring and leadership.

"He's a veteran player who's played around the world,” he noted.

Meanwhile, it could be a perfect occasion for Patriots’ coach Henry Mwinuka to make REG management regret letting him go since they hardly saw him as the right man to lead them to the Basketball Africa League 2023 season.

Mwinuka told Times Sport that his team is prepared and confident of getting a good result on Friday.

"REG is a good team and has players with regular experience of the League, generally, this game will be on the top level,” he said.

"It’s going to be a tough game, probably the toughest this season but I think we have chances of winning. We want to build our game and consistency,” he added.

Meanwhile, the game will be preceded by another game between APR and IPRC-Kigali, starting at 7pm at the same venue.

APR are third with 17 points, while IPRC-Kigali are bottom of the table with 8 points.