Stanley dominates as KCCA Panthers edge UCU to stay unbeaten

Stanley Mugerwa dominates as KCCA Panthers edge UCU to extend unbeaten record

Stanley Mugerwa dropped a 23-point, 11 rebounds double-double to help the KCCA Panthers edge the UCU Canons 73-69 and maintaining their winning streak.

April 12, 2025

3–4 minutes

kcca panthers, National Basketball League, NBL 25, ucu Canons

The KCCA Panthers edged the UCU Canons 73-69 in a repeat of the 2024 quarter-finals, on Friday 11th at Lugogo.

The Panthers, who finished top 4 in the regular season last year, have ambitions of challenging for the title and once again finishing in the top 4 in the regular season this year.

They came into the game with a 3-0 record and it being against the team that sent them packing last year, they were up for war.

UCU lost their opener against Kampala Rockets but returned to winning ways after hammering the Rezlife Saints in Mukono.

This was an opportunity for them to have a winning record but it was going to be a tough game due to the physicality with which the Panthers play.

It was a very good start to the game for the KCCA Panthers as they led 18-9 after the first quarter.

UCU had 0 field goals scored in the first 6 minutes but managed to score a couple as the quarter winded down.

Emmanuel Odongkara set the tone for KCCA with his 7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 incredible assist in the first quarter.

Just UCU in the first quarter, the KCCA Panthers did not score from the field in the first 6 minutes of the game.

The Canons took advantage, made a 16-2 run to take a 6-point lead change the momentum heavily.

When the Panthers first unit returned, they tried to stop the bleeding.

Stanley Mugerwa scored a couple of points and that kept the Panthers in the game.

Jimmy Otim infused in some good energy and scored the final 6 points for the UCU Canons in the half that ended 28-33 .

After scoring just 1 triple in the half, KCCA scored 4 in the third quarter.

All their first 3 baskets in the quarter were from behind the arc and these helped boost their energy.

The third quarter was very competitive, the Canons led by as many as 7 but quite couldn’t engage an extra gear to create a sizeable separation.

The turning point was the first minutes of the quarter as the Panthers made a 10-2 run to take a 4-point lead.

Stanley Mugerwa made some big baskets down the stretch but most importantly for KCCA and to the dismay of UCU, the Canons had multiple empty possessions in the final minutes of the game.

The Panthers managed to secure the victory 73-69 to keep their winning streak alive.

Coach’s Reactions

UCU Canons Head Coach Nicholas Natuhereza shared his reactions about the game.

“I think we didn’t meet the physical demands of today’s game”

“We had a bit of control towards the end of the third quarter but we let our guard down, didn’t execute offensively as we should have and gave away some easy points down the stretch”

“Kayiira and Stanley, there is a big gap in terms of experience and I can’t fault him for that” on the match between Joel Kayiira and Stanley Mugerwa.

“KCCA took advantage of all the weaknesses that we presented tonight” on KCCA capitalizing on the mismatches.

“I don’t want to encourage iso basketball, i want us to do it when we have an advantage” on the Iso ball that UCU used on numerous occasions.

The Canons had one of their contributors Alier Pech go down with injury and the coach commented on that.

“It was unfortunate because he was one of our better bigs tonight in terms of production“

Coach Raymond of the KCCA Panthers was pleased with Mugerwa’s performance on the night.

“Stanley was big tonight. He played so well and understood his role” he commented.