Sunday Final: Men Espoir 64-83 IPRC-South 3rd place play-off Patriots 88-64 APR Women APR 63-59 UR-CASS Saturday Semi-finals Espoir 75-70 APR Patriots 65-68 IPRC-South IPRC-South stunned defending champions Espoir 83-64 to win the basketball pre-season tournament Sunday evening at Amahoro indoor stadium. The Huye-based Integrated Polytechnic Regional Center had a day earlier shocked hopefuls Patriots 68-65 in the semi-finals, before overwhelming Jean Bahufite’s Espoir, who were without suspended shooting-guard Lionnel Hakizimana. IPRC-South, only formed last year, lost the first quarter 22-11 but never lost hope as they bounced back to take the remaining three quarters 14-10, 24-14 and 34-28 respectively to seal their second piece of silverware in a space of three weeks after triumphing in the inter-universities competition. Forward Herve Ikishatse (16pts) and new signing Sunny Niyomugabo (14pts) scored a combined 30 points to lead youthful side to the title, and their coach Didier Bineza, tipped his team to shine in the upcoming league, which is scheduled to start this Friday. “We are very happy to win the tournament, it so special especially beating Espoir in the final, every player gave it his best and we surely deserved to win. Nonetheless, there is no time to relax, because the league is starting in a few days and we need to get ready,” Bineza told Times Sport. IPRC-South, which was created in late 2014, enjoyed their maiden season in the national league to finish fifth. En-route to the final, IPRC-South stunned Cyrille Kalima’s Patriots 68-65 while Espoir saw off archrivals APR with a narrow 75-70 win. In women’s category, the 8-time regular league champions APR won 63-59 over UR-CASS to be crowned champions.
