Playoffs finals: Game 5 - The ultimate decider is here

Sunday, September 18 Game 5 Patriots Vs REG 7pm Bitter rivals Rwanda Energy Group (REG) and The Patriots, on Sunday, September 18, will be up against each other in Game five of the best-of-five series, a tie that will decide the champion of this season. The two teams are currently square with 2:2 wins from the four matches played so far. The basketball fraternity in the country will be looking forward to knowing if REG will defend their title or The Patriots will pip them to it, when action gets underway at the BK Arena at 7pm on Sunday. Speaking to Times Sport, fans expressed some of their expectations in the tie. “Last year we had a good time winning the men's and women's championship and even this year we want it,” said Ally Maxime Muhoza, the president of REG fans’ club. He issued his call to the fans of the club to turn up on Sunday to cheer the boys to victory, “because we want to represent Rwanda again in BAL.” For Geoffrey Asiimwe, a Patriots fan, it will be a tight game but if the team maintains concentration in both halves, it will take the victory. “The stakes are high for game five and we have seen from the last four games that you can’t tell who’s gonna win the game until the last minute. However, the Patriots have always been better at starting the game well but they have been struggling to hold on to their lead in the last two quarters,” he said. He added: “REG won their two games by capitalizing on the Patriots lack of concentration in the third and fourth quarters and they almost overturned the game in the fourth game yet Patriots had led by almost 20 points. Therefore, if the Patriots manage to control the game like they did in the fourth game they will definitely be champions. I presume Patriots’ coaches have done enough homework on how to manage the last two quarters.” Asiimwe has been a Patriots’ fan since 2014 and says it has been a roller coaster since then. He pointed out some of the things that have stood out for him during his time as a fan, including the fact that they managed to end the dominance of Espoir and APR that had dominated the league for decades. Besides, he notes that The Patriots’ performance in regional tournaments has been incredible, be it in Zone V or the maiden edition of BAL. However, he echoed his disappointment in regards to how they lost out on the trophy last season, adding that he believes that winning it this season will be a fitting revenge. “I believe game 5 should serve as a chance to get revenge on our rivals REG and go back to the continent’s biggest club event, the BAL,” he said. History of the two teams in winning trophies The Patriots won four championships in the past 10 years in the Rwanda Basketball League, while REG bagged two. The Patriots' maiden league title came in 2016 after beating their close challengers, Integrated Polytechnic Regional Centre (IPRC-South), 52-45, in the finals. Later, in 2018, the team returned to win the second title after overcoming REG 3-1 in a best-of-five final series. In 2019 and 2020, the Patriots were also the champions, a feat that means they won the trophy three consecutive times. For REG, their first title came in 2017, and the second in 2021.

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Playoffs finals: Game 5 - The ultimate decider is here