UGB Beats Patriots in Genocide Memorial Tournament Opener

The game was postponed after Kenya Ports Authority was late arriving in Rwanda, where they are participating in the 1994 Genocide Memorial Tournament for the Basketball Community.

Patriots BBC played without their regular starters Cole Elliott and Frank Kamdoh, which meant that expectations were lower.

The game started off fast, with both teams scoring, and UGB leading 18-14 at the end of the first quarter.

Eric Kayondo and Mark Burton continued to score in the second quarter. At the end of the first half, UGB BBC led the game 40-28 against Patriots BBC.

Patriots entered the third quarter with a strong start and began to reduce the gap with help from Rukirambere Jean Marie.

In the final minutes of the quarter, UGB regained their lead with a significant score thanks to Kayondo. The third quarter ended with UGB leading the game 56-40 against Patriots.

In the final quarter, the game continued in that vein, with James Amatoe and Mohamed Doumbya continuing to score for UGB.

In the final four minutes, Steve Hagumintwari scored three-pointers three times, reducing the gap to only five points.

With 16 seconds left, Hagumintwari scored another three-pointer, tying the score at 65-65.

However, Mark Burton scored two free throws that made the difference, and the game ended with UGB BBC defeating Patriots BBC by a score of 67-65.

In the women’s category, KPA defeated Kepler WBBC 88-63, while REG WBBC defeated the formidable East Africa University Rwanda 104-50.

The tournament will continue on Thursday, when UGB will play Dar City of Tanzania at 12:30pm , while APR BBC will play KPA at 10am All matches will be held at the Petit Stade.

By Dylan Mugenga