Rwanda Energy Group (REG) clinched the 2022 Basketball Africa League (BAL) title after beating Ferroviario da Beira 94-89 on Tuesday which saw the team advance to the playoffs in May in Kigali with a 4-1 record.
Jean-Jacques Nshobozwabyosenumkiza powered the Rwandan champions with a game-high 28 points, Dieudonne Ndizeye and Cleveland’s Thomas Jr. added 21 points apiece and Anthony Walker made his presence felt with 11 points and 7 rebounds.
The 23-year-old was 8-for-11 from beyond the arc, Ndizeye was 5-of-9 from the three-point line, Thomas Jr. scored 12 of his 21 points from the perimeter line and Adonis Filer pushed Beira’s defense by converting 3-of-6 three-pointers.
Nshobozwabyosenumukiza later revealed that REG’s mindset heading to the final game “was to close this tournament with a win. We won this group Sahara Conference, and we are happy that we are going to play the team that finishes fourth in the other group Nile Conference.”
“I got that energy from God because yesterday I didn’t play well, so I made sure to execute and play better tonight.”
“They almost beat us, but we were focused tonight.”
“It’s a huge motivation for us. We’ve only lost one game, that means that maybe we can win the BAL title,” Nshobozwabyosenumkiza said.
REG proved challenging for Beira in several aspects of the game.
The BAL Nile Conference will take place in Cairo from April 9 through April 19 with the playoffs taking place in Kigali from May 21-28.
BAL Nile Conference
BC Espoir Fukash (DR Congo)
Cape Town Tigers (South Africa)
Cobra Sports Club (South Sudan)
FAP (Cameroon)
Petro de Luanda (Angola)
Zamalek (Egypt)
Tuesday REG 94-89 CFV Beira