Basketball: Patriots, REG clash in pre-season final

Today Third place playoff Espoir vs APR 5pm Final Patriots vs REG 7pm Rwanda basketball giants Patriots BBC and newly created Rwanda Energy Group (REG) Basketball Club will face off this evening in a battle for preseason tournament glory at Amahoro stadium. Both teams being two strong sides with high ambitions for the forthcoming 2016/2017 season, the game promises to be competitive. Who is going to dethrone IPRC-South as preseason tournament winners? The final whistle verdict will tell. The national basketball league reigning champions Patriots reached the final after ousting APR Basketball Club 58-47 on Sunday while hopefuls REG saw off Nyamirambo-based giants Espoir BBC 67-56 also on Sunday. Both games were held at Amahoro indoor stadium. This game means a lot for both sides, with new entrants REG keen to instantly have an impact. The side is led by Rwanda’s famous and former Espoir coach Jean Bahufite and boasts of some star players in Rwanda. In a telephone interview on Thursday, REG head coach Bahufite told Times Sport, “We are aware of the tough battle awaiting us, Patriots are a solid team with valuable experience and good players. However, we won’t be intimidated by anything. We will be out there to play hard, enjoy the game and do everything possible to win.” On the other side, Henry Mwinuke’s Patriots have never won this competition since joining the championship in 2014, and are expected to do everything possible to win it tonight. They also want to confirm they are ready to retain the league and make many forget about Espoir’s supremacy, the team that consecutively won almost everything, from 2012 to 2015, including four league and four playoff games titles among so many others. The highly anticipated tie between Patriots and newcomers REG will be preceded by the third place playoff that will see former tourney winners Espoir face the military side APR at Amahoro stadium. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Basketball: Patriots, REG clash in pre-season final