Kigali Titans were crowned champions of the 2021/22 second division basketball league on Saturday night after dethroning holders Orion. Cyrille Kalima’s high-flying Titans side ended Orion’ domestic dominance with a convincing 2-0 series after defeating them on Saturday, July 23, at BK Arena in a tightly-contested 65-64 victory. Orion started the game with a win in the first quarter 15-14, as they were trying to win the second game and force the finals to game three but Titans bounced back to claim the second quarter with 16-13. Returning for the second half, both sides drew the third quarter 18-18, before Orion snatched the final quarter 18-17 but it was not enough to help Orion win the championship. Speaking to Times Sport in a post-match interview, a visibly relieved Cyrille Kalima confessed that “this is absolutely one of the happiest days of my life.” He further noted: “It has been a long season, but at the end of the day we prevailed. This can only be the beginning of a new era for the club.” Eli Cave and Picasso Arsene Muhizi contributed a combined 22points-13 points each. Meanwhile, power forward Eli Cave was rewarded with the Most Valuable Player (MVP) prize for the 2021/22 second division basketball season, particularly due to his impressive performance during the playoffs.
