The National Basketball League (NBL) regular season finally culminated to a climax on Wednesday and it is UCU Canons who were the biggest winners as they survived the relegation sword.

They defeated KCCA Panthers in a game that was largely determined by the poor 3rd quarter performance of the Panthers.

The Lady Canons also got a big win against already relegated Nkumba Lady Marines but it was a hard fought one as the Canons had to come back from a 12 point deficit at half time.

The Final 8 teams for both the Men and women have been determined but due to Namuwongo Blazers pulling out from the season, FUBA decided to replace them and it’s Kampala Rockets who had finished 9th that get the opportunity.

KIU Titans will finish as second seed and all teams shall climb up by 1 place.

The Men’s playoffs will unfold a lot of drama and it will be very fun to see who progresses to the semifinals and ultimately wins it all. As it is, the City Oilers are still the favorites having lost just 1 game in the regular season but that lost came from last placed Ndejje Angels and was a sign that the “dictators” can be hurt.

City Oilers will face Kampala Rockets and it’s expected to be one way unless the Rockets step up very big.

Having not played their second round game due to a color clash, the UCU Canons and Power will have another go at each other. The Canons will still be having the momentum having survived on the last game but a much Power showed us what they are capable of in the second round after having acquired Mpeti Elvis and Puati Ozias Kikomba.

Our Savior closed the first Round in spectacular form winning 6 of their last 8 games but the second Round was not as brilliant for them. On the other hand, Ndejje who had been in last place to close round 1st round have turned their tides around. They defeated UCU, City Oilers and others and that man Gatwang Thuok has been the orchestrator of all their successes. They also have Samuel Ajak who had been shooting well and Kumbai whose presence in the paint is scary for opponents.

KCCA Panthers and KIU Titans is another that is very much anticipated. The Titans have been very strong and defeated the Panthers 84:71, 75:45 in the regular season. The Panthers haven’t been such a force but they have shot quite well from deep and if their shots continue falling, maybe they could get something out of the Titans.

For the women, the Final game did not change anything in the standings as UCU could not change places and either way, they’d still be playing KCCA Leopards.

Some of the most anticipated games include Miracle Ravens against KIU Rangers and JT Lady Jaguars against Magic Stormers.

KIU Rangers lost to the Ravens 57:51 in the first round but got their revenge in round 2 with a 63:62 win. As you can see from the score line, both teams seem to know each other very well and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top.

JT Lady Jaguars also lost to Magic Stormers 69:63 in round 1 but the story was very different in round 2 when they schooled their opponents in a 22 point game. Magic Stormers shall however still be counting their chances, knowing that if they can replicate what they did round 1, they could progress.

KCCA Leopards against UCU Lady Canons will be the biggest game in the ladies. The defending Champions haven’t been as lethal as they were last season and this is mostly because they lost most of their star players. They now have a very difficult task against KCCA Leopards in the quarter finals but the Leopards have been in form of their life.

Leopards only lost 1 game in the second round against number 1 seed JKL Lady Dolphins. Both teams won 1 game during the regular season, UCU 78:73 winners in round 1 while KCCA 67:63 winners in round 2.

Despite A1 Challenge playing better in the second round, they play a very ruthless JKL Lady Dolphins and it’s expected to be 1 way traffic. JKL won both regular season games 82:30 and 82:58.