Caleb Katumba was the hero in game 4 as he scored the winner for the Rezlife Saints on their final attempt with barely a second left.
The Rezlife Saints won game four 84-83 to tie the series 2-2 but there was a lot of controversy and Victoria University players and fans were left dissatisfied with a couple of calls.
With about 20 seconds left in the game, Victoria University led the game by 1 point and Cyrus Wobusobozi was sent to the line with a chance of making it a 3-point game.
However, he missed both free throws, and Apugi collected the rebound and made a very good pass from his baseline to the baseline of the other team, but unfortunately, Richard Anyunva went out of bounds after receiving the ball.
At this point, all Victoria University had to do was waste time but after the timeout, Cyrus Wobusobozi made a turnover and Rezlife got the possession with 6 seconds left on the clock.
This moment was very controversial because Victoria University people argued that Cyrus was fouled, and that’s how he lost control of the ball.
Nonetheless, he didn’t protect the ball well enough and if you’re having a bad day, things can go bad and they did go sour in his case.
After the timeout by Rezlife, Caleb Katumba took his time, made the drive, and buried the floater to seal the Rezlife Saints Victory in overtime.
To take you back a bit, most people thought this game was done and dusted after the third quarter but a lot was witnessed in the fourth quarter.
Rezlife Saints made Victoria University work for everything and they kept ahead.
At halftime, they led 46-35, and in the third quarter, they extended their lead to 16 points.
In the first 5 minutes of the fourth quarter, Rezlife Saints scored a single field goal and Victoria went on a 12-0 run to make it a 4-point game.
The Saints made some baskets to make it a 9-point lead but Victoria made another run, 10-0 to take a 1-point lead with 2:23 left.
With 25 seconds to go, the game was tied, and Kumbai had a chance to give Victoria the lead from the line, but he missed both. Shortly after that, Katumba Caleb scored on the free-throw line, and Rezlife had the lead with 20 seconds left.
Ronald Ayume made no mistake, as he scored a smooth middy to send the game into overtime.
Talking points
Some many fans and players, more so Victoria University were left unsatisfied with some decisions but when games become tense like this, you must never leave it in the hands of the referees.
Victoria University had chances to finish the game off, but they missed crucial baskets.
Cyrus didn’t protect the ball well enough on the final possession; Kumbai missed both free throws late in the fourth quarter and Cyrus also missed 2 free throws late in overtime. The foul that sent Caleb to the free-throw line late in the fourth quarter was also unnecessary and cheap.
Those are not referee mistakes and if you can’t finish off the game, you have only yourself to blame.
It is safe to say that Rezlife Saints won this game on the Free throw line.
When compared to other statistics, Victoria University was the better team but from the free throw line, they messed up big and in crucial times.
Victoria finished with 12/26, 46% while Rezlife Saints had 24/38, 63% but the most important thing is the timing of the free throws.
Victoria scored just 2/7 attempts in the fourth quarter while Rezlife scored 7/11.
The missed free throws by Kumbai with under a minute to go were the most crucial but he failed to bury any.
On the other hand, when Caleb was called upon, he managed to score both of his and that was enough to put his team in a comfortable spot.
In overtime, Victoria scored just 1/4, but once again, they had 2 late misses, and this around, it was Cyrus. The Saints managed to score 4/6 in that time.
Victoria University showed the “never give up mentality,” and this will be very crucial for them in the coming games.
Playing as hard as they did defensively in the final 10 minutes is what they need to have from the start in the remaining games of the series.
Momentum shift
Having been down 2-0, Rezlife Saints were in a bad place but leveling the series changes things.
The game is back to 0-0 but the Saints have positivity within them and can they keep flying on this momentum?
Rezlife Saints
Katumba Caleb 14 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl
Acinbai Apugi 13 pts, 16 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl
Leonardo Gilabi 12 pts, 9 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk
Arnold Kisekka 12 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl
Victoria University
Joseph Kumbai 23 pts, 23 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk
Cedric Alema 20 pts, 10 reb, 3 blk, 1 stl
Ronald Ayume 17 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl
The teams meet again for game 5 on Friday
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