Nshobozwabyosenumukiza calls buzzer-beater “biggest shot in my career

Teammates and alike got lost for words when Jean Jacques Nshobozwabyosenumukiza hit a three-point buzzer-beater that boosted Rwanda Energy Group’s chances to progress to the Basketball Africa League playoffs in May in Kigali.

With 7.8 seconds left and trailing SLAC by a point, REG Head Coach Robert Pack designed a play that would see Cleveland Thomas Jr. take the last shot, but Pack also warned his other players to get ready in case Thomas Jr. was trapped.

Thomas Jr., who finished with a game-high 24 points, had no sight of the basket, but found Nshobozwabyosenumukiza widely open to hit what he later described as the “best shot of my basketball career.”

Nshobozwabyosenumukiza’s buzzer saw REG improve their Sahara Conference to 2-0 thanks to the 83-81 win over SLAC.

“That’s the biggest shot in my career. And I am proud of it,” the 23-year-old said in an exclusive interview with bal.nba.com.

“There’s still some work to be done, but if we keep playing this way, we are going to the playoffs in Rwanda,” the Rwandan international player said.

He even elaborated the play: “Coach said we had to give the ball to Tom [Cleveland Thomas Jr] because he was supposed to be the finisher, but the rest of us had to be ready to shoot. I was ready that’s why I hit it.”

“Switch and stay. It’s that simple. That’s how we should have defended,” said SLAC Head Coach Zeljko Zecevic.

SLAC dropped to 1-2 with two more games to play in the Sahara Conference.

It was a game that could have gone either way, with both teams changing the lead 21 times, but eventually REG, who benefited from a productive bench, came out on top.

Five SLAC players scored 11 points or more each, but with Marcus Crawford and Chris Obekpa spending 40 minutes each on the floor, SLAC’s bench could only contribute 11 points.

Nshobozwabyosenumukiza was 2-for-4 to finish with 15 points, Dieudonne Ndizeye added 13 points and Anthony Walker added 11 points and seven rebounds for REG.

“The guy is special. He’s a good defensive player and offensive player too. Of course we are going to Kigali, one way or another,” Ndizeye said.

“It was a Klay-shot. I am proud of my guy,” Walker noted about Nshobozwabyosenumukiza.

“This is a very important win for us. We just came out here, played hard, we executed our plays, we did what we were supposed to do, it’s a major win for us.

Asked about REG’s immediate goals, Walker said: “We just need to get focused, locked in for the next game and continue to get these wins.”