Patriots progress to Basketball Africa League Second Round Qualifiers

DAR ES SALAAM (Tanzania) - Rwandan outfit Patriots are through to the Second Round of the Basketball Africa League Qualifiers after defeating hosts JKT 79-65 on Saturday at the National Indoor Stadium.

Dieudonne Ndayisaba aka Gaston dropped an impressive 20 points and picked eight rebounds to inspire the Patriots to a well deserved victory after a shaky start. 

“IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT GAME BECAUSE IT WAS VERY FAST BUT WE REORGANIZED OURSELVES AND WON EVENTUALLY. WE JUST HAD TO PLAY GOOD DEFENSE AND EXECUTE ON OFFENSE. WE ARE VERY HAPPY THAT WE HAVE QUALIFIED TO THE NEXT ROUND.”- Ndayisaba

JKT led 19-15 after the first quarter thanks to explosive fast breaks inspired by captain Baraka Athumani and Jonas Mushi who drove to the hoop fearlessly picking fouls off the Patriots guards. 

The home side drew in the visitors to their style of play but Patriots captain Aristide Mugabe stepped up to the occasion and took care of the ball and organized his teammates playing to their strengths. 

Patriots picked an incredible 56 rebounds including 29 defensive and 27 offensive in a show of how much depth they have in the paint. They shared the ball as everyone contributed on both ends of the ball registering a combined 19 assists as compared to JKT's nine exposing their reliance on just Athumani and Mushi. 

Henry Mwinuka's outfit opened a 10-point lead in the third quarter and ran away with the game in the end to record their third straight win at the tournament and henceforth booking a place in the next round of the Basketball Africa League Qualifying Tournaments. 

Michael Makiadi scored 13 point and was one rebound away from a double double while Kenneth Gasana added 12 points and four rebounds. 

"It was a very difficult game because it was very fast but we reorganized ourselves and won eventually. We just had to play good defense and execute on offense. We are very happy that we have qualified to the next round," Ndayisaba told FIBA.basketball.

Athumani's 23 points and three rebounds were not enough to help JKT get their second victory and have now dropped to a 1-2 win ratio at the regional event. 

Meanwhile, Jean Hakizimana put up a man-of-the-match performance sinking a game high 34 points to guide Dynamo to their first win of the tournament, a 90-43 one-sided victory over Hawassa from Ethiopia. 

Bienvenu Ndikuriyo and Nobel Ninyonganza contributed to the score sheet with 16 and 14 points in that order as they walked away with ear-to-ear smiles after a memorable performance that will go a long way in building their confidence. 

Patriots and City Oilers have automatically qualified to the next round of qualification. 

FIBA