Rwanda Energy Group (REG) head coach Henry Mwinuka has said he will throw in the towel if he is not maintained at the team’s helm during the upcoming season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). In September, the Tanzanian coach led REG to the Rwanda Basketball League title, a feat that earned them qualification to the BAL, an NBA-sponsored showpiece that attracts 12 teams from across the continent every year. It has been common for Rwandan clubs to hire new head coaches for the BAL, making those that they already had to serve as assistants. Last season, Mwinuka was an assistant to American tactician Robert Pack, as REG topped the Sahara conference of the BAL and reached the quarterfinals. Recently, Times Sport caught up with Mwinuka for an exclusive interview where he shared about how he feels in regards to REG’s triumph in the local league, as well as his thoughts on the BAL. Commenting on the highly contested playoffs finals where REG overcame the patriots 3:2 in the best of five series, he noted that the competition was different this year, since both clubs had gathered good players who could even go on and participate in the BAL. “It was like they (the two teams) had already put together teams for the BAL,” he said. He reflected on how hard it was to beat the patriots, saying they are a good shooting team, good in the transition and defence. This required REG to come up with tactics to counter such a threat, and make efforts to make adjustments game after game in order to get the victory, according to Mwinuka. Asked about how he handled the team, especially considering the fact that it had more foreign players than usual, he said his approach was to focus “on the team first, instead of individuals.” “You can see most of the players from outside of the country can say ‘don’t sub me, I want to play for ten minutes,” but for me as a coach I don’t allow those things in the team because it separates the team,” he said. American guards Adonis filer and Cleveland Thomas Jr were key players for REG, putting up a partnership that scored more than 150 points during the five games of the playoffs finals. In the interview, Mwinuka described them as “really good players” who know how to win, although there are some small mistakes to adjust. Timely passing of the ball is one of the things that Mwinuka pointed out to make the two player’s performances even better. Meanwhile, the management of the BAL recently announced that REG is among the six teams that will automatically qualify to the upcoming tournament. As the team gears up for the showpiece, Mwinuka told Times Sport that he will resign if REG does not maintain him as their head coach at the BAL. “If things happen like last year, I will resign,” he said. Here, he noted that the BAL is a program for African coaches and players, and if given a chance, they can perform well at it. Having previously played and coached at the Zone V continental tournament, Mwinuka says the BAL is almost the same thing, and thus he has what it takes to be head coach at the BAL. “It is the same thing but now you find someone telling you ‘Henry Mwinuka you don’t have the level of coaching the bal.’ so, I am asking, how come I coached the national team of Rwanda?” he asked.
