APR basketball club have started preparations as the 2019/20 BK Basketball National League season nears resumption from its seven-month break due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The league was suspended in March after the first case was confirmed in Rwanda. On Thursday, October 1, APR players and staff took Covid-19 tests at CHUK Hospital in Kigali and will, reportedly, report to camp soon. However, by press time, the date to start residential camp was yet to be confirmed. The preparations follow Monday’s announcement by the Ministry of Sports that training and competitions for collective sports could resume, but, under strict preventive guidelines. Speaking to Times Sport on Thursday, APR head coach Aimé Karim Nkusi confirmed that players and coaching staff had all undergone the testing and a concrete plan (training facility, camp venue and training schedule) was being finalised. “There will be a camping facility for 24 members (players and staff) of the club, and all health guidelines will be fully observed,” noted Nkusi, a former player for APR and the national team. He added: “After all requirements are fulfilled, we get approval from the ministry of sports and start training.” It is expected that, if nothing changes, the league will resume under a shortened eight-team tournament format on Sunday, October 18. The current ranking will determine the teams to take part in the new-look league. Before the league was halted on March 14, APR were third on the 13-team table with 15 points, having won 7 games and lost once. Rwanda Energy Group (REG) lead with 23 points, one ahead of two-time reigning champions Patriots. APR, once a dominant side on local scene and in the region, have not won the league title since 2010.
