BAL 2021: We want to fight for national pride - Patriots players

Patriots Basketball Club Players have vowed to play for national pride during the upcoming inaugural season Basketball Africa League where they will represent Rwanda. Set to be played from May 16 through 30 in Kigali, the much-anticipated tournament will be the first professional league run by the NBA outside North America, and it will see 12 clubs from 12 different African countries compete. Speaking to Times Sport about the tournament, Patriots small forward Steven Hagumintwari said it is a great honour that the tournament will be played in Rwanda, and pledged to put up a good fight to perform well when action kicks off. “For us, the fact that we will be playing in front of Rwandans is something that will give us the strength to perform well. And this is why we are required to embark on extraordinary preparation,” he said. Hagumintwari is one of the players that featured for Patriots during the first round of the BAL qualifiers in 2019, but unfortunately, he picked up an injury and didn’t proceed to round 2. He has since recovered and hopes to contribute to the team’s endeavours going into the final tournament if he is given a chance to play. Team captain Aristide Mugabe spoke about the competition as “very exciting,” and long-awaited. He rallied fellow players to play and show what Africa has got, “We are starting our preparations in a few days. It will require us everything. We have to be ready mentally, physically and put all our hearts into it,” he said. “We always set the target high, and we want to win the title. But it starts with getting some wins and qualifying for the quarter-finals, and then we can go on from there. The message (for fellow players) is simple: let’s go out there to compete and show the world that Africa has got talent,” he added. The 12-team competition will have 18 group games altogether, quarterfinals, semi-finals and then finals. Patriots Point guard Sedar Sagamba said BAL tournament is a great opportunity for the country as a whole, and young child will have the opportunity to see a high level of the game which will assist them to love the game, “As a club, we need to be well-prepared because we will be at home. We will also need to show that our league is at a high level,” he said. Below are the 12 club teams from 12 African countries that will compete in the inaugural BAL season: Ferroviario de Maputo (Mozambique), GNBC (Madagascar), Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria), Petro de Luanda (Angola), AS Douanes (Senegal), AS Police (Mali), FAP (Cameroon), Union Sportive Monastir (Tunisia), AS Sale (Morocco), GSP (Algeria), Patriots (Rwanda) and Zamalek (Egypt).

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BAL 2021: We want to fight for national pride - Patriots players