# 2021–22 RBL season

The 2021–22 RBL season is the 1st season of the Rwanda Basketball League under its new name. The season began on March 11, 2022 and ended September 19, 2022.
The defending champions REG repeated and won their third league title, after defeating rivals Patriots in the finals.

## Foreign players

The following non-African players played in the RBL in the 2022 season:
| Team | Foreign players |
| APR | Darko Balaban |
| Tigers BBC | Adrian Breitlauch |
| REG | Cleveland Thomas |

## Regular season

The regular season began on March 11 and ended August 14, 2022. The top four teams advanced to the playoffs. The bottom two teams relegate to the Division 2.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Patriots | 24 | 22 | 2 | 2041 | 1330 | +711 | 46 | Advance to playoffs |
| 2 | REG | 24 | 22 | 2 | 2191 | 1402 | +789 | 46 | Advance to playoffs |
| 3 | APR | 24 | 21 | 3 | 2191 | 1402 | +789 | 45 | Advance to playoffs |
| 4 | Tigers | 24 | 15 | 9 | 1785 | 1588 | +197 | 39 | Advance to playoffs |
| 5 | Espoir | 24 | 14 | 10 | 1703 | 1628 | +75 | 38 | |
| 6 | UGB | 24 | 13 | 11 | 1726 | 1434 | +292 | 37 | |
| 7 | Shoot for the Stars | 24 | 12 | 12 | 1727 | 1635 | +92 | 36 | |
| 8 | IPRC-Kigali | 23 | 13 | 10 | 1581 | 1435 | +146 | 36 | |
| 9 | IPRC-Huye | 23 | 10 | 13 | 1673 | 1440 | +233 | 33 | |
| 10 | IPRC-Musanze | 24 | 6 | 18 | 1368 | 1835 | −467 | 30 | |
| 11 | Rusizi (R) | 24 | 5 | 19 | 1380 | 1865 | −485 | 29 | Relegated to Division 2 |
| 12 | UR Huye (R) | 24 | 2 | 22 | 1262 | 2124 | −862 | 26 | Relegated to Division 2 |
| 13 | UR CMHS (R) | 24 | 0 | 24 | 1039 | 2490 | −1451 | 24 | Relegated to Division 2 |

## Playoffs
### Bracket

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Patriots | 2 | | | |
| 4 | Tigers | 0 | | | |
| 4 | Tigers | 0 | 1 | Patriots | 2 |
| | | | 2 | REG | 3 |
| 2 | REG | 2 | 2 | REG | 3 |
| 3 | APR | 1 | Third place | Third place | Third place |
| | | | 3 | APR | 95 |
| | | | 4 | Tigers | 42 |

### Semifinals
#### (1) Patriots vs. (4) Tigers

* August 26 20:00
* Boxscore
Patriots 91, Tigers 45 :
| Scoring by quarter: 25–9, 24–11, 14–18, 28–7 |||
| Pts: Steven Hagumintwari 16 Rebs: Dieudonné Ndizeye 8 Asts: Sedar Sagamba 6 | Pts: Adrian Breitlauch 10 Rebs: Adrian Breitlauch 10 Asts: Adrian Breitlauch 3 |
* AIPER Nyandungu, Kigali Attendance: 312
* August 28 2:00 p.m.
* Boxscore
Tigers 51, Patriots 73 :
| Scoring by quarter: 14–17, 13–14, 14–21, 10–21 |||
| Pts: Adrian Breitlauch 15 Rebs: Adrian Breitlauch 10 Asts: Christian Gakuru 3 | Pts: Steven Hagimuntwari 19 Rebs: Bush Wamukota 14 Asts: Chris Crawford 5 |
| Patriots BBC win series 2–0 |||
* Kepler Campus, Kigali Attendance: 250

#### (2) REG vs. (3) APR

* August 26 20:00
* Boxscore
REG 85, APR 47 :
| Scoring by quarter: 16–14, 28–12, 15–6, 25–15 |||
| Pts: Engelbert Beleck Bell 19 Rebs: Axel Mpoyo, Elie Kaje 9 each Asts: Adonis Filer 5 | Pts: Darko Balaban 14 Rebs: Darko Balaban 16 Asts: Geralde Williams 5 |
* Kepler Campus, Kigali
* August 28 6:00 p.m.
* Boxscore
APR 68, REG 59 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–12, 13–17, 14–20, 19–10 |||
| Pts: Darko Balaban 22 Rebs: Darko Balaban 13 Asts: Armel Sangwe 8 | Pts: Cleveland Thomas 14 Rebs: Wilson Nshobozwa 6 Asts: Wilson Nshobozwa 6 |
* Kepler Campus, Kigali Attendance: 500
* September 2 8:00 p.m.
* Boxscore
REG 71, APR 66 :
| Pts: Adonis Filer 22 Rebs: Wilson Nshobozwa 7 Asts: Cleveland Thomas 4 | Pts: Armel Sangwe 18 Rebs: Darko Balaban 12 Asts: Steven Pierrere 6 |
| REG win series 2–1 |||
* Stecol, Kigali

### Third place game

* September 10 4:00 pm
* Boxscore
| APR | 95–42 | Tigers |
| Scoring by quarter: 20–7, 18–16, 36–12, 21–7 |||
| Pts: Philippe Kubanatubane 15 Rebs: Arnaud Knusi 10 Asts: Noah Bigirumwami 4 | | Pts: Christian Nakuru 13 Rebs: Tresor Muteba 11 Asts: Pacifique Mutabazi 2 |
* BK Arena

### Finals: (1) Patriots vs. (2) REG

* September 7 8:00 p.m.
* Boxscore
| Patriots BBC | 75–70 | REG |
| Scoring by quarter: 17–23, 17–20, 24–8, 17–9 |||
| Pts: Chris Crawford 27 Rebs: Crawford 10 Asts: Gasana, Habimana 3 each | | Pts: Adonis Filer 17 Rebs: Filer, Kambuyi Manga 7 each Asts: Filer 5 |
* BK Arena Attendance: 4,500
* September 10 8:00 p.m.
* Boxscore
| REG | 79–70 (OT) | Patriots |
| Scoring by quarter: 18–25, 17–18, 18–12, 12–10, Overtime: 14–5 |||
| Pts: Cleveland Thomas 21 Rebs: Pitchou Kambuy Manga, Axel Mpoyo 14 Asts: Adonis Filer 8 | | Pts: Kenneth Gasana 16 Rebs: Dieudonné Ndizeye 11 Asts: Dieudonné Ndizeye 6 |
* BK Arena
* September 11 8:00 p.m.
* Boxscore
| Patriots | 75–82 | REG |
| Scoring by quarter: 15–22, 18–24, 20–20, 26–9 |||
| Pts: Kenneth Gasana 11 Rebs: Bush Wamukota 10 Asts: Ntore Habimana 6 | | Pts: Adonis Filer 21 Rebs: Pitchou Kambuy Manga 7 Asts: Cleveland Thomas, Adonis Filer 5 |
* Kigali Arena
* September 14 8:00 p.m.
* Boxscore
| REG | 65–78 | Patriots |
| Scoring by quarter: 11–14, 10–27, 22–15, 22–22 |||
| Pts: Axel Mpoyo 19 Rebs: Axel Mpoyo 10 Asts: Wilson Nshobozwa 4 | | Pts: Kenneth Gasana 18 Rebs: Ntore Habimana 9 Asts: Kenneth Gasana 10 |
* BK Arena Attendance: 4,500
* September 15 8:00 p.m.
* Boxscore
| Patriots | REG |
| Scoring by quarter: 13–24, 18–18, 18–17, 25–25 |||
| Pts: Kendall Gray 18 Rebs: Kendall Gray 15 Asts: Chris Crawford 6 | Pts: Adonis Filer 23 Rebs: Adonis Filer 11 Asts: Cleveland Thomas 8 |
| REG wins series 3–2 |||
* BK Arena Attendance: 8,693

## Awards and statistics
### Season awards

* Most Valuable Player: Axel Mpoyo (REG)
* Team of the Year:
** G Adonis Filer (REG)
** G Kenny Gasana (Patriots)
** F Steven Hagumintwari (Patriots)
** F Axel Mpoyo (REG)
** C Pitchou Kambuy Manga (REG)
** Coach: Henry Mwinuka (REG)

### Individual statistical leaders

After the regular season.
| Category | Player | Team(s) | Statistic |
| Points | Kamndoh Betoudji Frank | Shoot 4 Stars | 455 |
| Rebounds | Kamndoh Betoudji Frank | Shoot 4 Stars | 362 |
| Assists | Samuel Niyonshuti | Shoot 4 Stars | 163 |
| Steals | Jean de Dieu Umuhoza | UGB | 121 |
| Blocks | Kamndoh Betoudji Frank | Shoot 4 Stars | 85 |

## Winning roster
### REG BBC

* 0 Adonis Filer
* 1 Herve Ikishatse
* 6 Cleveland Thomas
* 7 Pascal Niyonkuru
* 10 Olivier Shyaka
* 11 Parfait Ishimwe
* 13 Elie Kaje
* 14 Axel Mpoyo
* 20 Kami Kabange
* 24 Prince Muhizi
* 35 Pitchou Kambuyi Manga
* 80 Wilson Nshobozwabyosenumukiza
* HC Henry Mwinuka

## All-Star Game

The all-star game was played on September 24, 2022, in the BK Arena. Team Mpoyo beat Team Steve 126–116 behind 29 points by top scorer Kendall Gray.
Team Mpoyo :
| Pos | Player | Team |
| G | Cleveland Thomas | REG |
| C | Elie Kaje | REG |
| C | Kendall Gray | Patriots |
| G | Adonis Filer | REG |
| C | Axel Mpoyo | REG |
| F | Thierry Munyeshuri | Espoir |
| F | Pascal Niyonk | REG |
| F | Arnaud Nkusi | APR |
| G | Wilson Nshobozwabyosenumukiza | REG |
| G | Armel Sangwe | APR |
| G | Olivier Shyaka | REG |
Team Steve :
| Pos | Player | Team |
| G | Steven-Emile Pierrere | APR |
| C | Frank Betoudji | Shoot 4 Stars |
| F | Aganze Bazihima | Espoir |
| C | Tom Wamukota | Patriots |
| F | Ntore Habimana | Patriots |
| F | Tresor Muteba | Tigers |
| F | Steven Hagumintwari | Patriots |
| F | Kubwimana Kazingufu Ali | APR |
| C | Justin Uwitonze | IPRC-Kigali |
| F | Engelbert Beleck Bell | Patriots |
| F | Dieudonné Ndizeye | Patriots |
| G | Kenny Gasana | Patriots |