Rwandan and REG forward, Dieudonné Ndizeye has said his team will put up a ‘do or die’ show against Tunisian powerhouse US Monastir in a battle to finish at the top of the Sahara Conference as the Basketball Africa League (BAL) reaches a crucial stage.
The pair face off in a mouthwatering showdown on Monday night at Dakar Arena.
After losing 64-84 to Stade Malien on Saturday, REG will need to turn their results around with a win over the BAL defending champions if they are to stand a chance of topping the Sahara conference.
Ndizeye told Times Sport that the Monastir test should be a ‘must win’ game.
“We know it won’t be an easy game as we are going to face one of the best teams in Africa, but we are ready and we will give everything to win the game, we have big ambitions of finishing at the top like we did last year,” Ndizeye said.
In 2022, REG progressed to the BAL 2022 playoffs after a stunning 77-74 victory over US Monastir, while the defeat forced the Tunisians to drop to second.
REG have already qualified for the playoffs that will take place in Kigali in May. The Rwandan champions won their first three games before losing the fourth encounter to ABC Figthers of Côte d’Ivoire over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Kwara Falcons will not be making it to the playoffs after losing all their first four conference games. It became official when the Nigerian champions lost to AS Douanes 75-68 on Saturday.
The Falcons will now be looking to fight for pride when they take on high-flying ABC in their last game of the conference campaign on Monday.
Liz Mills’ ABC side will conclude their Sahara Conference campaign on Tuesday, March 21, with game against Mali’s Stade Malien.
