As the Rwandan basketball league playoffs edge closer, top clubs have strengthened their rosters with major trades that could significantly define their season. APR and Patriots have been busy recruiting big name players, many of whom featured and went to cement elite status in the Basketball Africa League (BAL). Below are the key signings expected to headline the local league for their remainder of the season. Patriots Michael Dixon Jr Georgian-American point guard Michael Dixon has joined local powerhouse Patriots. A naturalized citizen of Georgia since 2016, Dixon represents the Georgian national team, for which he featured at the EuroBasket 2017 among other competitions. For Rwandan fans, Dixon's performance with US Monastir during BAL 2022 might still be something to remember, as he won the most valuable player accolade during that season. His journey has taken him to various leagues including Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Czech National League, Greek Basket League, Turkish Basketball First League, Israeli Basketball Premier League, Lega Basket Serie A, Basketball African League, and Canadian Elite Basketball League. ALSO READ: Patriots Basketball Club bolsters squad with two key signings Jean Victor Mukama Patriots will also rely on the services of Mukama, a Canadian-Rwandan professional basketball player who boasts a diverse skill set as a versatile forward. This is not the first time that Mukama will be featuring for the Patriots. He played for the team in December 2019 during the 2020 BAL qualifying campaign. His performance during the competition, particularly in the final against Madagascar’s Gendarmerie Nationale Basketball Club, was commendable, as he scored a game-high 18 points. Mukama has played in various leagues including the Canadian Elite Basketball League, Dutch Basketball League, Liga Española de Baloncesto, and the BAL qualifiers. Ater Majok Majok, who played for Petro de Luanda during the just-concluded 2023 Basketball Africa League playoffs in Kigali, is also a valuable addition for the Patriots who badly eye a return to the African elite club basketball competition. ALSO READ: Majok set to sign for Patriots The 35-year old Sudanese-Lebanese center is one of the best who have lit up the BAL so far. During the inaugural season (2021), he played a big role as Tunisian giants US Monastir won the 2022 BAL championship, beating Petro de Luanda in the final. He was named the tournament’s defensive player and was given a place in the league's best team and all-defensive team. Germaine Roebuck Jr The fast and skilled American forward played a number of games for Patriots during the first round of the league before he joined Uganda champions City Oilers for the BAL. He now returns to finish the business he started in the Patriots’ colors. ALSO READ: Roebuck Jr completes Patriots move Born in Champaign Illinois, Roebuck Jr played basketball at Champaign central high school and later joined Calumet College - a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) school. Cadeaux de Dieu Furaha The Rwandan forward also joins Patriots ahead of what could define what a treasure he is to Rwandan basketball. Furaha formerly played for US-based schools including New Mexico Military Institute, Abilene Christian University and the University of Arkansas Fort Smith. ALSO READ: Rwanda’s Cadeaux de Dieu Furaha: From humble beginnings to playing basketball in the US He was also part of the national team that won bronze at the AfroCAN tournament in Angola. APR BBC Prince Ibeh The British-Rwandan center has joined APR after one of his most recent stints in clubs like Xinbei in China’s T1 league. Born to Nigerian parents in the United Kingdom and raised in the United States, the 29-year-old holds British citizenship, but has also acquired Rwandan citizenship. ALSO READ: Prince Ibeh joins Chinese T1 LEAGUE side Xinbei He represented Rwanda in international basketball, and was part of the roster that played the 2021 African Basketball Championship (Afrobasket) finals in Kigali. De Marcus Holland De Marcus is an American basketball player who last played for the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League. He played four seasons of college basketball with the Texas Longhorns. In May 2021, Holland played for Mozambican club Ferroviário de Maputo in the 2021 BAL season, the first season of the Basketball Africa League. He started in all four games and averaged 13.8 points, and helped Ferroviário reach the quarter-finals.
