APR Basketball Club clawed their way back into the Rwanda Basketball League's playoffs, leveling the series 1-1 after a spirited 83-75 victory over bitter rivals Patriots on Sunday night at BK Arena.
Coming off a disappointing Game 1 loss, where lingering fatigue from the Basketball Africa League seemed to dampen their edge, APR returned to the court with renewed intensity. With point guard Antino Alvalezes Jackson orchestrating the offense, the Lions looked far more composed and battle-ready.
Patriots came out determined to take a commanding 2-0 series lead, edging the first quarter 21-19, but APR flipped the script in the second, outscoring their opponents 27-20 to take a five-point lead into halftime (46-41).
APR took control in the third quarter, raising their intensity and widening the gap with a 21-16 run. The Patriots responded with a late push in the fourth, outscoring APR 18-16, but the deficit proved too much to erase as the defending champs maintained their grip on the game.
Antino Jackson was the night’s standout, leading APR with 21 points, while Jean-Victor Mukama added 10 to the tally. For the Patriots, Raphiael Putney topped all scorers with 23 points, while Bruno Nyamwasa and Frank Kamndoh chipped in 13 each.
With the series now tied at 1-1, the stage is set for a high-stakes Game 3 on Wednesday, June 25 at BK Arena — and the battle for a spot in the finals is just heating up.