Saturday Patriots 67-60 APR Forward Steven Hagumintwari starred with a game-high 20 points to power Patriots to a 67-60 hard-fought victory over APR during Saturday night league clash held at newly-launched Lycee de Kigali gymnasium. Dieudonné Ndizeye and center Kendall Gray added 17 and 13 points respectively for Patriots while Wilson Nshobozwabyosenumukiza led APR’s scoring with 19 points as did Congolese guard Fula Nganga with 17points. APR, who came into the game unbeaten in their previous six league games, started off well, winning the first quarter 23-16, before the Patriots bounced back to claim the second one 23-9. The Military side’s men won the third quarter on 16-11 points, but the Patriots won the fourth 17-12 to walk away with the victory. APR were tipped among favorites for the league title but defeat against the Patriots exposed their mistakes and were left with a homework to do to prove their title credentials. On the other side, Henry Mwinuka’s men showed a winning character and victory over APR set a reminder to rivals that Patriots remain a serious candidate to the title they last won two years ago. We are happy for the victory. The game was a physical one, and we did not start well. But in the second quarter we put ourselves together and got good results,” Hagumintwari said. The Patriots stay on top of the league with 17 points, while REG are in second place with 14 points. Despite the defeat, APR sit third with 13 points. On Sunday, February 12, REG and Espoir square off at Lycee de Kigali gymnasium while Shoot for the Stars host IPRC-Musanze at the same venue while IPRC-Huye face-off with United Generation Basketball Club (UGB) at IPRC-Huye ground.
