Espoir, Berco Stars retain hoops GMT titles

Finals Men Espoir (Rwanda) 78-49 PJB Goma (DR Congo) Women Berco Stars (Burundi) 66-50 PJB Goma (DR Congo) Espoir basketball club of Rwanda and Burundi’s Berco Stars retained the regional basketball Genocide Memorial Tournament (GMT) titles in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively, after beating PJB Goma of Democratic Republic of Congo in the finals on Sunday night at Amahoro Indoor Stadium. Espoir overwhelmed PJB Goma in a 78-49 win while Burundian giants Berco Stars defeated PJB Goma 66-50. Berco Stars’ guard Florence Sifa Kalume was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the women’s category while Congolese-born power forward Bienvenue Ngandu of Espoir scooped the accolade in the men’s category. In the post-match interview, Espoir head coach Jean Bahufite told the press that, “Retaining this title was among my targets this season. I am glad we did it. We tried to strengthen our defense since losing to CSK the previous Sunday in the local edition’s final and it worked out.” He further noted that all contenders were strong and anyone could have claimed the title but his side was very optimistic in bouncing back from the defeat to Cercle Sportif de Kigali (CSK) on June 7. The women’s MVP and Berco Stars Captain Kalume said, “We are happy to have retained this tournament title but especially for being part of the activities to remember over a million lives lost in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.” After retaining the regular league and GMT titles, Espoir are eyeing play-offs and FIBA Africa Zone Five Club Championships crowns for a complete quadruple this season.

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Espoir, Berco Stars retain hoops GMT titles