Basketballghana.com can confirm Patriots Basketball Club will represent Rwanda in the 2021 edition of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).
The team beat Rwanda Energy Group (REG) 76-61 in the league final at the Kigali Arena this past weekend after competition resumed following an extensive break due to the corona virus pandemic.
Patriots booked their spot in the inaugural edition of the competition backed by the NBA and FIBA Africa earlier this year before the pandemic hit. The maiden edition of BAL will run from December 5 to December 18 in Kigali.
The competition was set to commence in March but the emergence of COVID 19 forced organizers to change the start date. The latest league triumph is Patriots third in a row.
Patriots bagged a cash prize of Rwf2 million ($2049) for winning the league and Team Captain Aristide Mugabe stated, “It was a difficult mission to accomplish given that we were out of action for 7 months. I congratulate my teammates and coaches for owning it up and fighting so hard to win the league title once more. We have to immediately start thinking about the BAL tournament …The challenge ahead is more meaningful” according to Rwandan news outlet NewTimes.
By Yaw Adjei-Mintah
@YawMintYM on Twitter
