Basketball in Africa

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Patriots Basketball Club will be hoping to continue their good form that saw them reach the final of Rutayisire memorial tournament when the league resumes tomorrow.
Despite joining the Basketball league this season; Patriots have earned applause after getting to the final of the three-day competition. Cyrille Kalima’s Patriots narrowly lost 64-65 to mighty Espoir BBC in the final on Sunday evening at Amahoro stadium.
In an interview with Times Sport, Kalima said there is a lot his side learnt from the competition, adding that losing the final to the champions by one point shows his team is on the right course.
“Rutayisire Memorial Tournament taught us a lot; it also showed us that there is still a lot to do to make it to the top of the local scene. The experience and confidence we earned from this competition will help my players and the club at large to improve,” the former Kigali Basketball Club (KBC) coach told this paper.
He also noted that, “Despite having a youthful squad, I believe some of my players are up to national team level standards. Our intention is to become a basketball powerhouse sooner than later and we are on the right track.
Patriots club which was formed six months ago, are joint league leaders with Espoir Basketball Club on 21 points but the latter have played one game less.
The league resumes tomorrow with Patriots taking on IPRC- Kigali at 6pm at Amahoro stadium before taking on Espoir on Sunday.