Joshua Duallo continued to show what he is made of after completely dominating Sommet to help UMU Flames take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Joshua has been very dominant this season leading by far in Efficiency and Rebounds and also a top 5 in points, steals and blocks while being just outside the top 5 in assists.

He showed that he wasn’t slowing down any second as he recorded a huge double-double, 17 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 7 steals and 2 blocks against Sommet in game one of the quarterfinals.

Sommet led 19-13 after the first quarter but a disastrous second quarter gave UMU the lead and they never looked back.

Sommet scored just 2 field goals in 16 attempts in the second frame while UMU scored 23 including 4 huge 3-point shots.

UMU went on a huge 8-0 run to take an 11-point lead halfway the third quarter and this gave them firm control of the game.

Sommet scores 8 unanswered points to start the final quarter and bring the deficit to 2 points but it was a though they had awoken the sleeping lion.

UMU scored on 5 of their next 6 attempts in the next 2 minutes and they took the lead back to 11.

Despite efforts, Sommet scored just one basket in the final 4  minutes of the game and UMU won the game 64-53.

Talking points

Sommet attempted 44 3-point shots which was 13 more than they did from inside the arc.

They only managed to score 8 of the 44 attempts and this killed them offensively.

To make matters worse, the best scorer and shooter, Mark Ngobi, did not play, and this exposed how limited they are offensively.

That is an area they need to adjust on ahead of game 2 and utilizing the interior more could be the next option.

The disparity of points in the paint is also very alarming with UMU scoring 32 which was more than double that Sommet scored (14).

The big guys have to step up immensely or else the team will be packing.

Also, Sommet needs to do better im 1v1 defenses so that they can get some steals and make fast breaks.

In this game, they scored just 6 points from fast breaks and that is not enough.

Otuko John held his ground to help UMU and his pairing with Joshua caused problems for Sommet all day long.

Is he can be as productive as he was in game one, UMU might end up sweeping Sommet.

Match Stats

Sommet

John Paul Komakech 10 pts, 5 reb, 4 stl

Hon Kuany Lual 15 pts, 11 reb, 2 stl

William Charles Saverino 9 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast

UMU Flames

Gatwech Kong 13 pts, 6 reb, 2 stl

Joshua Duallo 17 pts, 14 reb, 5 ast, 7 stl, 2 blk

Otuko John 12 pts, 18 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk

The teams meet again on Sunday at YMCA for game 2 and it’s a must win game for Sommet.