National basketball leagueSaturday CSK vs. Rusizi (CSK)30 Plus vs. NUR (Kimisagara)APR vs. KIE (Amahoro)Espoir vs. KBC (Amahoro)Sunday UGB vs. Rusizi (Kimisagara)30 Plus vs KIE (KimisagaraNUR vs. CSK (NUR) THREE-TIME national league champions Espoir takes on joint league leaders and reigning champions KBC in the battle to retain summit of the national basketball league this afternoon at Amahoro indoor stadium.The game was initially slated to be played on Friday but the local basketball federation decided to shift the game to Saturday following the unavailability of the stadium during the weekday.Both KBC and Espoir are unbeaten since the league started last month after six matches played so far.Espoir coach Jean Bahufite who is beaming with lots of confidence is convinced the Nyamirambo side can pull out one of the exciting victories against KBC today so as to extend the club’s unbeaten run.“I have confidence with my team that they can beat KBC. We had a bright start to the season and we hope my boys will keep up the winning spirit. We are ready to overcome any challenge this season,” added Bahufite.His KBC counterpart Jacques Kimenyi could not be reached for a comment yesterday by press time as his phone was off.Espoir were previous champions in 1999, 2004 and 2005. Their most recent silverware came in August, this year, when they beat Urunani of Burundi 90-39 to win the Zone V club title in Kampala.In other matches due today, CSK will clash Rusizi at Circle Sportif Courts; 30 Plus hosts National University of Rwanda at Kimisagara gymnasium while APR will be entertaining Kigali Institute of Education at Amahoro stadium later in the afternoon.Action will prolong to Sunday with UGB taking on Rusizi at Kimisagara gymnasium before 30-Plus goes head to head with Kigali Institute of Education while National University of Rwanda will be up against CSK in Huye.Espoir and KBS are joint leaders of the national basketball league with 12 points each. They are closely followed by APR who are third on 10pts, CSK stand fourth with 8pts, UGB is fifth with 7pnts, NUR is sixth with 6points, Rusizi and 30-Plus have 5points each while KIE lies bottom of the log with 4 points.
