APR Basketball Club secured the top seed for the Rwanda Basketball League playoffs after edging reigning Basketball Africa League (BAL) champions RSSB Tigers 84-82 in the final game of the regular season on Thursday night.
The victory at Petit Stade in Remera confirmed APR as regular-season champions and set up a semifinal playoff rematch against fourth-placed RSSB Tigers.
With both teams already assured of playoff places before tip-off, the contest determined the final standings and the postseason bracket.
APR received a timely boost ahead of the playoffs with the return of Marquise Teafale Lenard Jr, while Senegalese center Maouhamadou Diagne made his debut for the military side.
James Edwards Maye Jr’s team produced a balanced offensive display to hold off a late fightback from RSSB. Jovon Adonis Filer led APR with 13 points, Axel Mpoyo added 12, while Isaiah Briscoe and Marquise Teafale Lenard Jr each contributed 11.
RSSB Tigers were carried by Nisre Mimi Zouzoua, who scored a game-high 29 points, while Antino Antino Alvalezes Jackson finished with 16. Despite the pair’s efforts, the BAL champions fell just short.
APR ended the regular season atop the standings with 30 points, one ahead of Patriots BBC. REG BBC finished third with 27 points, edging RSSB Tigers on the head-to-head tiebreak after both teams finished level on points.
The results set up two blockbuster semifinal matchups, with APR facing RSSB Tigers and Patriots BBC taking on REG BBC.
Elsewhere, Kepler BBC finished fifth with 23 points, level with sixth-placed UGB. EAUR BBC ended the season seventh on 22 points, while AZOMCO and Inspired Generation finished eighth and ninth respectively.
AZOMCO and Inspired Generation are set to be relegated to the second division after finishing in the league’s bottom two positions.
