{"id":100635,"date":"2025-05-06T17:31:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T17:31:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/how-sunny-niyomugabo-is-turning-the-tables-for-patriots-bbc"},"modified":"2025-05-06T17:34:56","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T17:34:56","slug":"how-sunny-niyomugabo-is-turning-the-tables-for-patriots-bbc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/how-sunny-niyomugabo-is-turning-the-tables-for-patriots-bbc","title":{"rendered":"How Sunny Niyomugabo is turning the tables for Patriots BBC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Patriots Basketball Club has weathered a challenging season marked by the departures of key players including Dieudonne\u0301 Ndizeye and Will Perry, as well as long-time head coach Henry Mwinuka who is currently coaching Tigers.<\/p>\n

The team stumbled at the start of the campaign, sparking concerns that they might even miss out on the playoffs. However, as the regular season draws to a close, the team has defied expectations as it now sits second in the standings with 25 points.<\/p>\n

In addition to that, the Patriots are the only team to have defeated the reigning champions APR, edging them out with a 71-62 victory.<\/p>\n

Leading the resurgence is Sunny Niyomugabo, 35, a relatively young and inexperienced coach who stepped in following Mwinuka\u2019s departure. Niyomugabo, a former Patriots player and Mwinuka\u2019s assistant, took over the reins this season despite having only recently transitioned from professional basketball in 2023.<\/p>\n

Throughout his playing career, he featured for several local clubs, including Marine Basketball Club, KBC, APR, IPRC-Huye, and the Patriots.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my first year as a head coach, but I found it very different from being an assistant coach. When you are a head coach, you have full responsibility. When you lose, people blame you, and if you see something, you have to fix it,\u201d Niyomugabo tells Times Sport.<\/p>\n

He noted that he learned a great deal from Henry Mwinuka when he served as an assistant coach.<\/p>\n

Talking about the Patriots’ squad this season, he said that, based on the starting line-up, almost every team seemed stronger than his. However, what has made a difference is that the players understand the value of victory.<\/p>\n

For him, the main objective is to play in the playoffs, then anything is possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we get to the playoffs, we will plan one game at a time,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

Niyomugabo had a good career as a player. He contributed well as Kigali Basketball Club (KBC) claimed the 2010\/11 league title. Following his impressive display, the forward attracted attention from different domestic clubs including APR and Espoir, but he chose APR, signing for them for the 2011\/12 season.<\/p>\n

Under the guidance of long-serving Kenyan coach Cliff Owuor, Niyomugabo and his new team went to finish second in the league, behind arch-rivals Espoir for three seasons in a row.<\/p>\n

He joined the Patriots in the 2014\/15 season, signing a one-year contract.<\/p>\n

Niyomugabo has also played for the national team in the past. He earned his first national cap in 2011 for 17th FIBA Africa Men\u2019s Under-18 Championship.<\/p>\n

His first call to the senior team came in 2014 during the FIBA Zone V tournament that took place in Kampala, Uganda.<\/p>\n

Niyomugabo coaches Patriots, a team he played for during the 2014-15 season<\/p>\n

Niyomugabo previously played for Patriots before embarking on a coaching career at the same club-File<\/p>\n

Niyomugabo (L) took over the reins at Patriots after former coach Henry Mwinuka (R) left to coach Tigers-courtesy<\/p>\n


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For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. Patriots Basketball Club has weathered a challenging season marked by the departures of key players including Dieudonne\u0301 Ndizeye and Will Perry, as well as long-time head coach Henry Mwinuka who is currently coaching Tigers. The team stumbled at the start of the campaign, sparking concerns that they might even miss out on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":100634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,20,18],"tags":[3503,758,7315],"class_list":["post-100635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-photo","category-sport","tag-patriots","tag-rwanda","tag-sunny-niyomugabo"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Sunny Niyomugabo is turning the tables for Patriots BBC - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Patriots Basketball Club has weathered a challenging season marked by the departures of key players including Dieudonne\u0301 ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/how-sunny-niyomugabo-is-turning-the-tables-for-patriots-bbc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Sunny Niyomugabo is turning the tables for Patriots BBC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Patriots Basketball Club has weathered a challenging season marked by the departures of key players including Dieudonne\u0301 ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/how-sunny-niyomugabo-is-turning-the-tables-for-patriots-bbc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-06T17:31:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-06T17:34:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/05\/sm_1746540271.53903.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"583\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/how-sunny-niyomugabo-is-turning-the-tables-for-patriots-bbc#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/how-sunny-niyomugabo-is-turning-the-tables-for-patriots-bbc\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"How Sunny Niyomugabo is turning the tables for Patriots BBC\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-06T17:31:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-06T17:34:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/how-sunny-niyomugabo-is-turning-the-tables-for-patriots-bbc\"},\"wordCount\":502,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/how-sunny-niyomugabo-is-turning-the-tables-for-patriots-bbc#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/05\/sm_1746540271.53903.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Patriots\",\"Rwanda\",\"sunny niyomugabo\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Photo\",\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/how-sunny-niyomugabo-is-turning-the-tables-for-patriots-bbc#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/how-sunny-niyomugabo-is-turning-the-tables-for-patriots-bbc\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/how-sunny-niyomugabo-is-turning-the-tables-for-patriots-bbc\",\"name\":\"How Sunny Niyomugabo is turning the tables for Patriots BBC - 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