Urunani BBC
Urunani BBC is a Burundian basketball club based in Bujumbura. Nicknamed "Sisi Wenyewe", the team plays in the Viva Basketball League (VBL).
| Urunani | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname | Sisi Wenyewe |
| League | Viva Basketball League BAL Qualifying Tournaments |
| Founded | 1979 |
| History | Urunani BBC 1979–present |
| Location | Bujumbura, Burundi |
| President | Nkonyereza Aimé |
| Vice-president(s) | Uwintwari Lionel «Radja» |
| Head coach | Kagabo Aaron |
| Retired numbers | 1 (8) |
| Website | www |
Since 1979, Urunani has won more than 15 titles of national champions of Burundi (some years the national championship was not held for several reasons).
History
The name Urunani means "being together, a strong and indestructible network".[1] The club played in the Basketball Championship Amateurs de Bujumbura (ACBAB) for the first time in 1979.
Urunani BBC has already won three international competitions organized by the FIBA Zone 5. The club also played in the FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup in 2011, 2013 and 2014.
At mid-2021, Urunani reached an agreement with the ugandan club, City Oilers to bring back home Landry Ndikumana, and the rwandan club Tigers for Malick Ngenzahayo. It’s at the end of 2021 that Urunani have completed the signing of Guibert Nijimbere from Patriots. Ahead of the VBL 2022, the team acquired 5 international players from Uganda (Peter Obleng), South-Sudan (Peter Cheng Maleck), DRC (Michael Bwanga), Kenya (Paul Ereng Ekiru) and Nigeria (Njoku Joseph Chibuzo). With its strengthened roster, Urunani(17 wins/1 loss) managed to become the Burundian Champions and claimed a spot in the 2023 BAL Qualifiers. The team became the first-ever team from Burundi to win a semi-professional league : the Viva Basketball League in his first edition.
One of the notable players of Urunani, Elvis Hakizimana aka Gafyisi, wore No 8 during 20 seasons. On January 24, 2022, Gafyisi retired, and Urunani retired number 8 during an emotional pregame ceremony at «Terrain Département». On 26 January , Urunani signed Elvis Hakizimana as their new assistant-coach.
Honours
Burundian Basketball Championship
- Burundi Champions (15): ?, ?, ?, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2022
Heroes Cup
- Winners (?): 2019, 2021, 2022
Burundian Super Cup
- Winners (?): 2020
ACBAB
- Champions (?): 2017
FIBA Africa Zone 5 Champions
- Winners (3): 2011, 2013, 2014
In African competitions
Players
2022 roster
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.
| Urunani roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Notable players
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.
| Criteria |
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To appear in this section a player must have either:
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Sindayigaya Fanny-Fabrice- Nijimbere Willy
- Hakizimana Elvis
- Landry Ndikumana
- Ngenzahayo Malick
- Guibert Nijimbere
Adonis Filer
Álvaro Calvo Masa
Timajh Parker-Rivera
References
- "A Propos - Urunani Basketball Club". Urunani (in French). Retrieved 25 October 2021.