Rwandan champions Patriots have been placed in Group D of the upcoming qualifiers for the inaugural Basketball Africa League (BAL), which starts in February next year. According to a tentative schedule from NBA Africa, Group D qualifiers will be held on October 15-20 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The Patriots secured their slot in the BAL qualifiers last week after their historic comeback to edge Rwanda Energy Group in the playoffs finals for their third championship in four years. In Dar es Salaam, Henry Mwinuka’s Patriots will be up against Hawassa from Ethiopia, City Oilers from Uganda, JKT from Tanzania, Brave Hearts from Malawi and Dynamo from Burundi. A total of 31 teams from across the continent – divided into six groups – have confirmed their participation in the preliminary phase to vie for the available 16 slots in the next round. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
