Group Group A: AS Sale, Rivers Hoopers, JS Kairouan and SLAC Group B: ES Rades, Civil Defenders, Elan BBC and BC Terreur Group C: Al Ahly, Primeiro de Agosto, Ferroviario da Beira and REG Group D: Petro Atletico, Smouha, BC Mazembe and COSPN RWANDA Energy Group (REG) have been drawn in Group C at the upcoming inaugural edition of the FIBA Africa Basketball League. Draws were held Saturday night at Hotel Pullman in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The newly revamped continental competition will kick off on February 8. Patrick Ngwijuruvugo’s REG will represent the FIBA Africa Zone V region along with two Egyptian teams; Al Ahly and Smouha. The 16 teams representing all the seven FIBA Africa regions have been divided into 4 groups of 4, and the competition will be played in a round-robin format with each team taking on each of their 3 opponents. The clubs that finish in the top 2 from each group will advance to the Elite 8 round, where teams will be divided into 2 groups of 2 teams each. The Elite 8 will mark the start of the knock-out stage, and will run from March 22 to April 14. At this stage of the competition, teams will play home-and-away matches. The four winners from Elite 8 will advance to the last four to be played on May 3-5. Rwanda Energy Group qualified for the prestigious competition after finishing third in the 2018 FIBA Africa Zone V Club Championship, which was staged last August in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In an all-Egypt final, giants Al Ahly beat Smouha 68-67 to lift the title. Full schedule: Round of 16 Group A: February 8-10 Group B: February 15-17 Group C: March 1-3 Group D: March 8-10 Elite 8 First Leg: March 22 - 31 Second Leg: April 5 -14 Final Four May 3-5 editorial@newtimes.co.rw
