Espoir eye FIBA Zone V Champs final slot

Today Men (semi-finals) Espoir (Rwa) vs Gezira (Egy)/Tiger (Uga) 8pmTiger (Uga)/Gezira (Egy) vs City Oilers (Uga) 6pm 5/6 position playoff KPA (Ken) vs Ulinzi (Ken) 4pm 7/8 position playoff CSK (Rwa) vs Dynamo 12pm 9/10 position Savio (Tz) vs NFEL (S. Sud) 10am Women APR (Rwa) vs Don Bosco (Tz) 2pm Looking for their second FIBA Africa Zone Five Club Championships title, Espoir defeated Savio of Tanzania 75-56 on Wednesday evening to storm the Men’s semi-finals. The 2012 champions qualified for round of last four as first runners-up from pool A behind City Oilers of Uganda. The semi-finals and classification games are scheduled for today at Amahoro indoor stadium and National Paralympics Committee gymnasium courts. Jean Bahufite’s side was led by power-forward Bienvenue Ngandu and shooting-guard Lionnel Hakizimana, who both scored an equal game high 19 points. The home side, Espoir, who will face either Gezira of Egypt or Uganda’s Tiger Head Power in the second semi-final at 8pm, dominated Savio, winning the first quarter 17-12 and the second 19-10 to go into half-time with a 36-22 lead. Youthful Savio returned for the third quarter a bit sharper and claimed it 22-16, but the four-time local league reigning champions Espoir regained the momentum to win the fourth quarter 23-12 to seal a 75-56 victory- their third of the tournament. After the game, Bahufite hailed his men for a job well done but challenged them to do even better in today’s semi-finals. “I’m glad we are into the semi-finals, the players gave their all for this to happen. However, a stiffer challenge awaits us ahead, which is why we need to be at our best if we are to reach the final and possibly win the title,” he told Times Sport. Title favourites Gezira and Tiger Head Power were due to meet in the final pool B game last evening to determine who finishes top of the table to meet Espoir in semi-final while the loser would play City Oilers in the other semi-final. In women’s fray, there will be no knock-out stages as the six teams are all playing against each other on a round-robin basis, and table leaders will be crowned champions. Favourites Berco Stars of Burundi currently lead with 8 points, one ahead of holders USIU. By Press time, Rwandan representatives, Ubumwe and APR were in fourth and fifth position with six and four points respectively. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Espoir eye FIBA Zone V Champs final slot