NAIROBI, Kenya, May 31 – RSSB Tigers of Rwanda won the 2026 Basketball Africa League (BAL) Season 6 on their debut after seeing off Angola’s Petro de Luanda 90-88 in a breathtaking game at their BK Arena home turf on Sunday evening.
American Guard Leonard Randall produced a man-of-the-match performance to inspire the home team RSSB Tigers to roar back in the second quarter and take a 42-37 lead at half-time, a performance that saw them go ahead and claim the title.
Randall finished the game with a high scoring double-double of 33 points.
“I almost quit the game three months ago, and see now I am a champion. I trusted my teammates that we could make it. God is good. After trailing by 11 points in the first quarter, I told my teammates to be resilient, pick it up, and we would win it, and I am glad we did. The brotherhood we formed with this team is amazing, it’s what got us going,” an ecstatic Randall said after the game.
Randall was named the Most Valuable Player of the BAL Season six as RSSB Tigers wrote history as the first team from Rwanda to win the Championship.
Tanzanian Henry Mwinuka of the RSSB Tigers was named the 2026 Coach of the Year.
After trailing for most part in the first two quarters, Randall, who has been one of the standout performers of the 2026 BAL season 6, sent the Tigers ahead for the first time after shooting three to see the home team take charge 37-35, before scoring another three pointer at the buzzer to send the fans into a frenzy and go the the break with a five point cushion (42-37)
Randall finished the first half with 20 points and one assist as the Tigers won the second quarter 26-10.
South Sudanese Mangok Mathiang, who has already bagged the 2026 BAL Defensive Player of the Year, had a key outing to rally the Tigers back into the game.
Petro De Luanda, who are the 2024 champions, started the game on a high note, leading 27-16 in the first quarter, with a massive 11 points.
Randall beat his teammate Mathiang, Petro de Luanda duo Childe Dundao and Abou Gakou to win the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
