APR BBC

For the women's team, see APR WBBC.

Armée Patriotique Rwandaise Basketball Club, commonly known simply as APR, is a Rwandan basketball club based in Kigali. Owned and funded by the Ministry of Defence of Rwanda, the team plays in the Rwanda Basketball League (RBL) and in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) for the 2024 season. Nicknamed the "Lions", the team is the most decorated team in the country, as APR has won a record 15 national championships.^[2]

APR
2024 APR BBC season
Nickname	Lions
Division	Division 1
Leagues	Rwanda Basketball League BAL
Founded	1993
History	APR BBC (1993–present)
Arena	BK Arena[1]
Capacity	10,000
Location	Kigali, Rwanda
Chairman	Richard Murefu
Head coach	James Maye Jr.
Ownership	Ministry of Defence
2023 position	RBL, 1st of 14
Championships	14 Rwandan Leagues
Home Away

History

Originating during the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF)'s liberation struggle during the Rwandan Civil War in 1993, the club was established to serve as a means to engage and occupy soldiers during a ceasefire amid the peace talks that eventually led to the signing of the Arusha Accords. Alongside the basketball team, the RPF introduced teams in volleyball and football, which continue to operate successfully.^[3]

From 1995 to 2003, APR won nine consecutive national championships.^[3]

The Lions were taken over by Kenya-born head coach Cliff Uwuor in 2005. They won the FIBA Africa Zone 5 Club Championship in 2008, and won league titles in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010.^[4]

In 2008, APR became the first team in league history to finish the regular season unbeaten.^[5] Its succeses were partly due to APR's high-quality foreign players, mainly from the DR Congo. After its thirteenth championship in 2009, the team went a decade without notable performances. The club opted to play with homegrown players in these years, a decision that coach Uwuor named as a reason for less titles in these years.

In the 2023 offseason, the Lions acquired national team player Axel Mpoyo, Jean Jacques Nshobozwabyosenumukiza and Ntore Habimana, among others. APR eventually ended its 13-year long title drought before by winning another title in the 2023 RBL season, under head coach Maz Trakh.^[6]

APR made its BAL debut in the 2024 season, receiving direct qualification to the main tournament as Rwandan champion. The Lions were allocated in the Sahara Conference, but disappointingly finished in the fourth place in the group,^[7] becoming the first Rwandan team in league history to miss out on the playoffs.^[8] In August, they won the inaugural Rwanda Cup title.^[9] APR also won the 2024 league title, qualifying them for a second BAL season.^[10]

In the 2025 BAL season, APR finished in the third place of the league, the best result by a Rwandan team in league history, surpassing Patriots' fourth place in 2021. The Lions also set a league record for most points scored in a game in the third place game, after beating Al Ittihad 123–90.^[11] Center Aliou Diarra was named the BAL Defensive Player of the Year.^[12]

Honours

National

Rwanda Basketball League / National Basketball League

• Champions (15): 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2023, 2024
  • Runners-up (2): 2013, 2014

Rwanda Cup

• Winners (1): 2024

Rwandan Heroes Cup

• Runners-up (1): 2020

Genocide Memorial Tournament

• Winners (1): 2024^[13]

International

Basketball Africa League (BAL)

• Third Place (1): 2025

FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup

• Third Place (1): 2009

FIBA Africa Zone 5 Club Championship

• Winners (3): 2002, 2007, 2008

Friendly

Legacy Basketball Tournament

• Winners (1): 2024^[14]

In FIBA and BAL competitions

FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup (3 appearances)

2007 – 6th Place

2008 – 8th Place

2009 – Third place

Basketball Africa League (BAL) (1 appearance)

2024 – To be determined

Season by season

Season	Regular season				Playoffs	Cup competition
	Finish	Wins	Losses	Pct.
APR
2017–18	Season was not held
2018–19	4th	7	6	.538	Lost semifinals (Patriots) 2–3
2019–20	3rd[a]	2	1	.667	Lost semifinals (Patriots) 68–75	Runners-up (HC)
2020–21	4th	10	1	.909	Won quarterfinals (UGB) 93–51 Lost semifinals (Patriots) 0–2
2021–22	3rd	21	3	.875	Lost semifinals (REG) 1–2
2023	3rd	19	3	.864	Won semifinals (Patriots, 3–0) Won finals (REG, 4–0)
2024	2nd	16	2	.889	Won semifinals (REG, 3–0) Won finals (Patriots, 4–2)	Winners (RC)
Regular season record		75	16	.824
Play-down record		18	10	.643

1. In the 2019–20 season, the season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and as such APR only played a group phase of three games.

Players

Current roster

This section is transcluded from 2024 APR BBC season. (edit | history)

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

APR roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Age G 00 Filer, Adonis 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 31 – (1993-07-11)11 July 1993 PG 2 Obadiah, Noel (I) 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) 26 – (1999-06-28)28 June 1999 F/C 4 Hunt, Dario 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 36 – (1989-05-02)2 May 1989 F 5 Ruta, Christopher 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 24 – (2000-11-09)9 November 2000 SG 6 Robeyns, William 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 29 – (1996-02-23)23 February 1996 F 7 Mpoyo, Axel 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 28 – (1997-01-05)5 January 1997 G 11 Nshobozwabyosenumukiza, Jean Jacques 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 27 – (1998-06-26)26 June 1998 PF 14 Wamukota, Tom 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in) 31 – (1993-09-28)28 September 1993 PG 15 Habimana, Ntore 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 27 – (1997-08-15)15 August 1997 SF 23 Kimasa, Dan 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 30 – (1995-01-01)1 January 1995 G/F 28 Camara, Mohamed (E) 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 20 – (2005-04-01)1 April 2005 F/C 34 Abdullah, Mohamed (I) 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 21 – (2003-11-03)3 November 2003 PG 45 Larson, Niyibizi 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 18 – (2006-10-14)14 October 2006	Head coach Maz Trakh Assistant coach(es) Bill Bayno Daniel Zigirinshuti Legend (C) Team captain (I) Import player (E): BAL Elevate player Injured Roster Updated: May 4, 2024

Notable players

Note: 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: Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

See also: Category:APR B.C. players

• Wilson Nshobozwabyosenumukiza
• Elie Kaje
• Cedric Isom
• Ntore Habimana
• Ulrich Chomche
• Kami Kabange
• Darko Balaban
• Tom Wamukota

Head coaches

The following people have been head coaches of APR:

• Cliff Uwuor: (2005–2023)^[4][15]
• Maz Trakh: (2023–2024)
• James Maye Jr.: (2024–present)^[16]

Women's team

APR WBBC is the club's women's team plays in the Rwanda Women's Basketball League and have represented the country in the 2022 FIBA Africa Women's Champions Cup.^[17]