Rwandan point guard Jean-Jacques Wilson Nshobozwabyosenumukiza has been named on the All-Defensive team of the just-concluded Basketball Africa League (BAL) 2022. On Saturday, the curtains fell on this year’s edition of the BAL as Tunisian giants US Monastir claimed the championship after beating Angola’s Petro de Luanda 83-72 in the final game of the tournament. Despite the abysmal performance put up by Rwanda’s representatives in the tournament - Rwanda Energy Group (REG), their player Nshobozwabyosenumukiza was named on the BAL All-Defensive Team, an honour given to the best defensive players during the tournament. The 2022 All-Defensive Team comprises Childe Dundão and Abou Gakou (Petro de Luanda), Wilson Jean Jacques (REG), Brice Bidias (FAP) and Ater Majok (US Monastir). Nshobozwabyosenumukiza is one of the best point guards in the country, and boasts good defensive qualities like speed and ferocity in his game. In the BAL, he averaged 1.7 steals per game, 3.7 average defensive rebounds, 14.2 points per game, and 3.5 assists per game, making him one of the top performers for REG in the tournament. The 23-year-old also captured the attention of many fans when he scored an all-important last second three pointer as REG salvaged victory against a resilient Seydou Legacy Athletique (SLAC) in the Sahara Conference of the BAL in March. On the side of individual accolades at the BAL 2022, US Monastir guard Dixon Jr was named the Hakeem Olajuwon Most Valuable Player, while Zamaleks Anas Osama Mahmoud scooped the Manute Bol Sportsmanship Award. José Neto (Petro de Luanda) was the BAL Coach of the Year, Ater James Majok (US Monastir) was the Dikembe Mutombo BAL Defensive Player of the Year.
