Ubumwe beat UCU, eye FIBA-Africa club tourney

Today’s fixtures UCU (UG) vs USIU (KEN) 10amKPA (KEN) vs KCCA (UG) 12pmJKT stars (TZ) vs Don Bosco Lioness (TZ) 2pm Thursday Ubumwe 88-85 UCU Canons Ubumwe Basketball Club overcame Uganda Christian University Canons 88-85 on Thursday in their last game at the ongoing FIBA-Africa Zone V Club Championships that conclude today in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. The hard-fought win put Rwanda’s sole women representative in a very good position to qualify for this year’s FIBA-Africa Club Championships that will be held in Maputo, Mozambique in December. Ubumwe are top of the seven-team table with 10 points ahead of today’s last games involving other contenders including; Kenya Ports Authority, UCU and USIU. UCU, who came into the game with an unbeaten record, started strongly and dominated the first three quarters before Jacques Bahigye’s girls made a stunning comeback in the final quarter and eventually won the closely contested game played at the National Stadium. UCU finished the first three quarters leading 21-16, 44-30 and 66-58 which gave them a three-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. However, Ubumwe, led by shooting guard Ines Nezerwa and center player Charlotte Umugwaneza, won the fourth quarter 30-19. Nezerwa contributed the game high 30 points and nine rebounds while Umugwaneza dropped 20 points and 11 rebounds. “We started the game poorly and at times players made some mistakes that cost us, but in the last quarter they followed my instructions and we won,” said Ubumwe head coach Bahigye. He further added; “Our mission is done and we have to wait and see what happens in other games on Friday.”Ubumwe lead the table with 10 points, followed by UCU with 10 points (with a game in hand), KPA 7 points, USIU 7 points, KCCA 6 points (all with two games), Don Bosco Lioness 5 points and JKT occupy the last two positions. The top team will be crowned FIBA-Africa Zone V Club Championships champions while the top two will qualify to represent the zone at FIBA-Africa Basketball Championships. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Ubumwe beat UCU, eye FIBA-Africa club tourney