Patriots BBC

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	Sunny Niyomugabo
Championships	4 Rwandan Leagues
Home Away

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

The 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.

After the 2023–24 season, Mwinuka left the team, and was replaced by new head coach Sunny Niyomugabo.^[10]

Sponsorships

In 2024, Patriots BBC signed a five-year sponsorship contract with the Rwanda Development Bank (RDB).^[11]

Players

Current roster

As of 14 July 2024^[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team, as has been defined under FIBA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIBA nationality.

2024 Patriots BBC roster No. Pos. Nat. Player 0 SG  RWA Bruno Nyamwasa 1 F  RWA Furaha de Dieu 2 SG  USA Will Perry 5 PG  RWA Sedar Sagamba 10 C  RWA Frank Betoudji 12 SG  RWA Kenny Gasana 13 F/C  RWA Bienvenu Niyonsaba 15 F/C  RWA Olivier Kamilindi 23 F  RWA Steven Hagumintwari 32 SG  RWA Samuel Ndayizeye 34 SG  RWA Dieudonné Ndizeye

Retired numbers

Patriots BBC retired numbers
N°	Player	Position	Tenure	Ceremony date
88	Aristide Mugabe	SG	2015–2023	2 March 2024[13]

Past rosters

• 2021 BAL season

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.

• Aristide Mugabe
• Walter Nkurunziza
• Sedar Sagamba
• Jean de Dieu Niagunduka

Honours

National Basketball League

• Winners (4): 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020

BAL

• Fourth Place (1): 2021

Season by season

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)
2024–25	1	RBL	4th	16	10	6	.625	Lost quarterfinals (APR) 2–3 Lost third place game (UGB)	TBD	Sunny Niyomugabo
Regular season record				111	96	15	.865	4 NBL/RBL championships
Playoffs record				46	23	20	.535

Head coaches

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	December 2024
Sunny Niyomugabo[10]	January 2025