Sunday, March 23 Patriots 78-72 Orion APR 81-52 Espoir Malian star Aliou Diarra continued his electric form which inspired APR to a convincing 81-52 win over Espoir and Patriots were back to winning ways by beating Orion 78-72 as both teams capped off the weekend on a high. While Patriots were returning to winning ways after losing two crucial matches at the hands of their title rivals APR and Rwanda Energy Group (REG) in the space of one week, APR continued their unbeaten run in the league, having gone 11 games without a defeat so far this season. The army side and Espoir were the first side to play on Sunday, March 23, in a match held at Petit Stade indoor gymnasium. Diarra scored a game high 24 points and shooting Guard Justin Uwitonze and point guard Adonis Filer added 13 and 12 points respectively as the defending champions edged Espoir. Espoir’s Congolais Franck Nyembo Fataki led his team with 19 points in 26 minutes, whereas Ampire Mwanawabene had 16 points in 31 minutes. In another game, point guard Elliot Cole Lamar and Ronald Nato Kolmia scored 28 and 14 points respectively to Patriots’ win. APR continue to lead the table with 22 points, followed by REG in second-place with 15 points. Patriots are third with 14 points.
