Patriots Basketball Club, also known as Patriots, is a professional basketball club based in Kigali, Rwanda. Established in 2014, it plays its home games at Amahoro Indoor Stadium. The team is a four-time champion of the Rwanda Basketball League (RBL).[1]
| Patriots | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Leagues | Rwanda Basketball League | ||
| Founded | 2014 | ||
| History | Patriots BBC (2014–present) | ||
| Arena | Amahoro Indoor Stadium / Kigali Arena | ||
| Capacity | 2,500 / 10,000 | ||
| Location | Kigali, Rwanda | ||
| Team colors | Red, Black, Gold, White | ||
| Main sponsor | Rwanda Development Bank | ||
| President | Brian Kirungi | ||
| Head coach | Henry Mwinuka | ||
| Championships | 4 Rwandan Leagues | ||
|
| |||
In the 2021 season, the Patriots played in the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The club gained worldwide attention when American star rapper J. Cole signed with the team to play in the BAL.
History
editThe club Patriots BBC was founded in 2014 by a group of top corporate executives from diverse sectors of the economy.[2] In the Patriots' debut season, they immediately reached the playoff finals, but lost to Espoir 1–3.[3] Two years later, the Patriots won their first national championship.
On 21 September 2019, the Patriots won their fourth league title after defeating REG BBC in Game 7 of the finals, in a sold out Kigali Arena.[4] On 26 October, head coach Henry Mwinuka, who won three league championships with Patriots, parted ways with the club to join REG.[5] On 6 November, assistant coach Carey Odhiambo was promoted to become head coach.[6] In April 2021, ahead of the first-ever BAL season, the team signed American Alan Major as new head coach.[7] In April 2021, five days before the release of his album, The Off-Season, American rapper J. Cole signed with the Patriots.[8]
The Patriots played their first BAL game on 16 May 2021 at home in Kigali, beating Nigerian side Rivers Hoopers 83–60.[9] Eventually, the team finished in an impressive fourth place of the tournament.
Sponsorships
editIn 2024, Patriots BBC signed a five-year sponsorship contract with the Rwanda Development Bank (RDB).[10]
Players
editCurrent roster
edit- As of 14 July 2024[11]
Note: Flags indicate national team, as has been defined under FIBA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIBA nationality.
|
Retired numbers
edit| Patriots BBC retired numbers | ||||
| N° | Player | Position | Tenure | Ceremony date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | Aristide Mugabe | SG | 2015–2023 | 2 March 2024[12] |
Past rosters
editNotable players
editNote: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
| Criteria |
|---|
|
To appear in this section a player must have either:
|
Honours
edit- Winners (4): 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020
- Fourth Place (1): 2021
Season by season
edit| League champions | Playoff berth |
| Season | Tier | League | Regular season | Post-season | Cup competitions | Head coach | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Played | Wins | Losses | Win % | |||||||
| Patriots BBC | |||||||||||
| 2016–17 | 1 | NBL | 1st | Not held | Henry Mwinuka | ||||||
| 2017–18 | League not played | ||||||||||
| 2018–19 | 1 | NBL | 1st | 16 | 14 | 2 | .875 | Won semifinals (APR) 3–2 Won finals (REG) 4–3 |
Runners-up (HC) | ||
| 2019–20 | 1 | NBL | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | Won semifinals (IPRC-Kigali) 88–59 Won finals (REG) 76–61 |
Carey Odhiambo | ||
| 2020–21 | 1 | NBL | 1st | 12 | 11 | 1 | .917 | Won quarterfinals (30 Plus) 106–61 Won semifinals (APR) 2–0 Lost finals (REG) 0–2 |
Cancelled | Dean Murray | |
| 2021–22 | 1 | RBL | 1st | 24 | 22 | 2 | .917 | Won semifinals (Tigers) 2–0 Lost finals (REG) 2–3 |
Not organised | Ogolla Benson | |
| 2022–23 | 1 | RBL | 2nd | 22 | 19 | 3 | .864 | Lost semifinals (APR) 0–2 | Not organised | Henry Mwinuka | |
| 2023–24 | 1 | RBL | 1st | 18 | 17 | 1 | .944 | Won semifinals (Kepler) 3–0
Lost finals (APR) 2–4 |
Semifinalist (RC) | ||
| Regular season record | 95 | 86 | 9 | .905 | 4 NBL/RBL championships | ||||||
| Playoffs record | 37 | 21 | 16 | .568 | |||||||
Head coaches
edit| Coach | From | To | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|
 Henry Mwinuka |
December 2016 | October 2019 | 4x NBL champion |
 Carey Odhiambo[6] |
November 2019 | February 2020 | |
 Dean Murray |
February 2020 | March 2021 | 1x NBL champion |
| Bernard Oluoch |
March 2021 | April 2021 | |
| Alan Major |
April 2021 | May 2021 | |
| Ogolla Benson |
May 2021 | December 2022 | |
| Henry Mwinuka
|
January 2023 | present |
References
edit- ^ Rwanda: Basketball - Patriots, Reg Clash in Pre-Season Final Richard Bishumba, AllAfrica.com. 25 November 2016, accessed 11 April 2017.
- ^ "Basketball Africa League - BAL". www.thebal.com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021.
- ^ Bishumba, Richard (10 August 2015). "Espoir retain Hoops Play-offs title". The New Times. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- ^ "Pictorial: How Patriots Were Crowned Champions of BK Basketball League". 22 September 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
- ^ Sikubwabo, Damas (26 October 2019). "Mwinuka steps down as Patriots head coach". The New Times. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ^ a b "Ikipe ya Patriots BBC yabonye abatoza bashya #Rwanda". Kigali Today. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Basketball: Patriots sign new American coach Alan Major". The New Times Rwanda. 24 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
- ^ "J. Cole makes pro hoops debut in Africa League". ESPN.com. 16 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ "Basketball Africa League - BAL". www.thebal.com. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ Sikubwabo, Damas (28 May 2024). "PHOTOS: Patriots ink 5-year sponsorship deal with BRD". The New Times. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
- ^ "Competitions – Rwanda Basketball Federation". Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ Sikubwabo, Damas (2 March 2024). "Patriots retire former captain Mugabe's jersey". The New Times. Retrieved 15 March 2024.