With the exclusion of A1 Challenge and the poor performance of the Nkumba Lady Marines, we are likely not to have relegation battle this season.

However, there is a battle for the final playoff spot and 3 teams are going to be in that conversation.

The UPDF Lady Tomahawks have been underwhelming so far as they have only 3 wins, all from teams below them.

Angels have 2 wins, 1 from the game against Nkumba and the walkover win against UCU Lady Canons.

Fortunately for Angels, they will also get another win against UCU in the second round and that makes it 3 wins for them.

Nabisunsa has 2 wins, one against Angels and the other against Nkumba.

Given how the season is shaping up, the battle for the 3 teams is going to be very interesting, and any of them can easily make it.

This battle is going to go down to who beats who in the second round.

In round one, UPDF defeated Angels and Nabisunsa, 55-41 and 90-58 respectively.

However, when they got the win against Angels, it was earlier in the season and Angels have been a much better team since.

For the game against Nabisunsa, the game was 34-33 at halftime but things turned in the second half.

Nabisunsa defeated Angels 65-56 and this game could have gone either way.

From the results in the first round, it shows that Angels in the weaker side of the 3 teams having lost to both of them.

However, that walkover victory against UCU gives them a huge advantage among the 3 teams and they are in the best position to qualify to finish as number 8.

All they have to do is get a win against both these teams and plus the walkover wins, that could be enough to see them through.

However, it is going to be very difficult because currently, they have scored the least points (41 ppg), picked the least rebounds (42 rpg), had the least assists (7.4 apg), the least steals (9 spg) and the least blocks (1.2) among those 3 teams.

For them to think they can get 2 wins against those teams, they need to improve massively.

Despite losing to UPDF, Nabisunsa has done better than both Angels and UPDF statistically so far.

They have scored more points (57.7), more assists (14.4), more blocks (3.2) than UPDF.

By their height and size plus style of play, UPDF has gotten more rebounds and steals than Nabisunsa.

However, when it comes to scoring and scoring efficiency, Nabisunsa has done better with 189/428, 44.2% 2P, 48/233, 20.6% 3P compared to 164/494, 33.2% 2P, 49/254, 19.3% for UPDF.

Can Nabisunsa defeat UPDF?

That will be a very key question and if they can do it, all of a sudden, Nabisunsa may be in the playoffs discussion.

But just like we saw in the second half when the 2 sides met in round one, the Lady Tomahawks always have a trick under their sleeve when it comes to playing the high school side.

The case was the same in 2024 when the 2 teams faced off in the second round.

Nabisunsa was close in the second half but UPDF engaged another gear and won ‘comfortably’ in the end.

What can change the scales?

The 2 walkover wins for Angels already tip the scale in their favor.

However, if any of these teams can defeat a team outside them, then things change automatically.

Angels lost by 10 to Magic Stormers and 7 to the Miracle Eaglets and those were close games.

UPDF also came close against Miracle as they lost by 6 points.

Nabisunsa has not had a close loss although they have scored the most points in the games they have played.

Based on this, it seems Angels could maybe scrap and fight to get a win.

However, we shouldn’t forget that among the 3 teams, they are worst statistically and that means that any of the other 2 teams has better odds of upsetting a team outside their bracket.

One thing that could change the scales significantly is if Nkumba defeats any of these 2 teams.

If all of them, can defeat Nkumba, just like they did in the first round, they would then have to move on to looking for a team to upset.

The first assignment for any of these teams will be to defeat Nkumba and all of them are looking at that game as a payday.

Angels and UPDF play each other in their opening game of the second round on Sunday 1st at YMCA.

The result of that game will determine a lot and this is in many ways a decider for who makes the playoffs.

Nabisunsa open their second round on Saturday 31st against the Magic Stormers and if they can get a win in that game, it boosts their chances of making the playoffs.