Basketball: APR and REG women reach playoff finals

APR and REG women's basketball clubs will square off in the Rwanda Basketball League playoff finals for the third successive time following their 3-0 sweeps over GS Marie Reine Rwaza and Kepler.

REG advanced to the finals after beating Kepler 70-56 in Game 3 of the best-of-five semifinals on Wednesday evening at Petit Stade.

Julian Martinez’s side comprehensively outsmarted Kepler in all quarters, and Victoria Reynolds was on the right track as the Kenyan forward chipped in 20 points, four rebounds, and five assists.

Meanwhile, APR racked up a mammoth 86-45 victory against GS Marie Reine Rwaza in their best-of-five semifinals’ Game 3 on Wednesday at Petit Stade. Charlotte Umugwaneza starred in the win, grabbing a double-double with 19 points and 20 rebounds.

“The whole team is very excited. We knew we could do it, so we just came here and handled business and onto the next,” said Taylor Hosendove.

APR and REG women will tussle it out in the best-of-seven final series, and Game 1 is slated for Friday, 4 October, 8:30 p.m. Kigali time, whilst GS Marie Reine will face off against Kepler in the best-of-three series to determine the third-place winner.

In 2023, the Rwanda military-owned team claimed the championship after pulling off a narrow 62-61 Game 5 triumph over REG to win the final series by 4-1. REG won the 2022 league title after defeating APR 63-54 in Game 4 and accomplishing a 3-1 series victory.