Sunday (Third-place) Oilers vs Ferroviario 17:00 Final Patriots vs GNBC 19:30 Saturday (Semi-finals) Ferroviario 90-94 GNBC Patriots 81-59 Oilers RWANDA’S PATRIOTS have secured their ticket to the Basketball Africa League (BAL) 2020 after beating Ugandan champions City Oilers 81-59 in the semi-finals of the final qualifiers at Kigali Arena on Saturday. Man of the match Guibert Nijimbere led all scorers with 14 points, and star shooting guard Kenneth Gasana added 11 points as the Patriots confirmed their spot into Sunday’s qualifiers final against Madagascar side GNBC. After a 25-19 first-quarter advantage, Patriots, who were the better side from the off, already looked set for victory at the break as they enjoyed a 42-33 lead before taking the final two quarters 19-13 and 20-13, respectively. Joined by NBA Africa President Amadou Gallo Fall and the FIBA Africa President Anibal Manave, President Paul Kagame also attended the game. The final showdown gets underway at 7:30pm at Kigali Arena, and it will be preceded by the third-place playoff between City Oilers and Mozambique’s Ferroviario who will be battling for the sole ticket to the BAL 2020 that is still up for grabs. GNBC progressed to the final – and also subsequently qualify for the BAL 2020 finals tournament – after overcoming Ferroviario 94-90 in the first semi-final. The week-long BAL qualifiers for East Division started Tuesday and comes to an end Sunday night. Eight teams have been vying for three tickets to the highly anticipated continental tournament. Patriots and GNBC all advanced to knock-outs after finishing top and second, respectively, from Pool A, while Ferroviario and City Oilers were the best two teams from Pool B. The BAL 2020 regular season tips off in March.
