Basketball in Africa

by Julius Mbaraga
Kigali

Espoir continued to show signs of vulnerability against the top sides after crumbling to a 72-85 defeat against Rusizi over the weekend.

Léon Ngaboyakema had 31 points, five rebounds and four assists to hand the western province club a strong start in this year's league campaign. Two other Rusizi players were in double figures.
Meanwhile, Jean de Dieu Umutoni top scored for Espoir with 21 points while Platini Gatete added 17. In a post game comment, Rusizi's coach Pierre Kiza said that the guys wanted a good start and they got it.
"It is always important to win away from home and we did that. And winning against a team like Espoir is a bonus for us because it raises our confidence," he said.
After the Espoir win, Rusizi who are only making their second appearance in the league also registered a convincing 78-59 win over struggling Basketball United Generation (UGB).
The win left Rusizi level with APR and Espoir on points, although the latter have played more games. Despite losing out to Rusizi, UGB had earlier broken their losing streak with a 54-47 win over hapless Kigali Institute of Education.
Although Marine overshadowed Rusizi's display after winning the 2007 league, statistics show that Rusizi had one of the best ever debut performances in the history of the league. The student-studded club reached the play-offs after out-playing the likes of APR.

League results
Espoir 72-85 Rusizi
UGB 54-47 KIE
UGB 59-78 Rusizi