Owour gives up league title, targets Zone V championships

Saturday KIE 36-59 CSKUNR 61-97 ESPOIRSunday APR 73 – 49 CSKKIE 47 - 55 UNRRUSIZI 69 -108 ESPOIRAPR basketball coach Cliff Owour believes his team can finish in the top two in the league and qualify to represent Rwanda in the Zone V qualifiers.The former champions boosted their hopes of pushing league leaders Espoir all the way to the last game in the race for the title with a 73-49 win over another former winners Circle Sportif de Kigali (CSK) on Sunday.However, despite the win, the army side remain in second place with 25 points, three points behind leaders Espoir, who won their two games at the weekend.APR’s Lionel Hakizimana scored a game high 27 points and was ably supported by Pascal Nkurunziza, who added 18 points.Leaders Espoir made it 14 straight league wins after thrashing Rusizi 108-69 and National University of Rwanda 97-61 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.If Espioir win the league and APR finish in second position, both teams will represent the country in the Zone V Championships. Espoir are the defending champions.“I am happy with our results, but I think Espoir’s form will make it hard for any other team to win the league (title), they’re unstoppable at the moment. “However, if we continue winning our games, we have a good chance to finish in second place, which is enough for us to be Zone V qualifiers,” Owour told Times Sport.In contrast, Espoir coach Jean Bahufite remains confident about his team’s chances of lifting the league title for the first time since 2005 when he was a player.

Sports

Owour gives up league title, targets Zone V championships