{"id":104645,"date":"2025-07-03T13:59:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T13:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/rbl-finals-apr-leads-series-1-0-with-nshobozwas-19-points"},"modified":"2025-07-03T14:37:41","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T14:37:41","slug":"rbl-finals-apr-leads-series-1-0-with-nshobozwas-19-points","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/rbl-finals-apr-leads-series-1-0-with-nshobozwas-19-points","title":{"rendered":"RBL Finals APR Leads Series 1-0 With Nshobozwa’s 19 Points"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Wednesday, July 2<\/p>\n

Finals Game 1<\/p>\n

APR 91-86 REG<\/p>\n

Star point guard Jean Jacques Wilson Nshobozwabyosenumukiza scored a game-high 19 points to power APR past Rwanda Energy Group (REG) with a 91-86 Game 1 victory at BK Arena on Wednesday night, July 2.<\/p>\n

The win marked the perfect start to the finals for the army side which leads the best-of-seven finals series 1-0.<\/p>\n

James Maye Jr\u2019s men were off to a flying start to Game 1, winning the first quarter 35-27 before REG narrowed the deficit to six points after taking second quarter 20-18 as APR headed into halftime leading the game 53-47.<\/p>\n

Returning for the second half, APR looked unplayable thanks to their pace and fighting spirit. They won third quarter 26-16 and opened a 16 points lead going into the final quarter.<\/p>\n

At that point, the majority of the crowd inside the BK Arena was convinced that APR were going to win the match. However, REG came back a different side from what people have seen the first three quarters.<\/p>\n

Lead by Cleveland Thomas, the electricians launched a comeback and narrowed the deficit by just two points as they trailed APR 84-86 with one minute to play.<\/p>\n

They dominated the last quarter 23-12 but APR held their nerves to maintain the lead until the final second aa the game ended 91-86.<\/p>\n

Besides Nshobozwa\u2019s brilliance, Adonis Filer dropped 15 points while Jean Victor Mukama contributed 13 points.<\/p>\n

For REG, Cleveland Thomas Jr dropped 30 points and 10 rebounds as point guard Jean de Dieu Umuhoza contributed 13 points. The teams will return to action in Game 2 on Friday, July 4.<\/p>\n

The finals\u2019 hype was dealt to a blow after APR center Aliou Diarra and REG start point guard Jean-Jacques Boissy made themselves unavailable before Game 1 after they were invited to participate in the 2025 NBA Summer League which will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the United States from July 10-20.<\/p>\n

The opportunity was too good for Boissy to turn down although he admitted that he wasn\u2019t able to finish the battle he started with REG.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, I would like to thank the management and the coach that allowed me to leave on this crucial time to chase my dream. To the fans or REG, I am sorry I couldn\u2019t make it to the end of the tunnel but I trust my teammates,\u201d the BAL 2025 MVP posted on his Instagram story on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The pair departed Kigali on Wednesday, July 2, where they joined the Dallas Mavericks and the Milwaukee Bucks respectively as they hope to make their mark at the off-season competition.<\/p>\n\r\n