At the start of the season, Sommet boss stated that their aim was to finish in the top 4 this season.

This was in response to an article questioning there chances of surviving relegation.

At that time, the team had just gotten into the NBL through the ‘back door’, barely had any time to prepare and did not make big signings.

The coach, who had very small NBL coaching experience had also just joined and had to make things work in such a short time.

When I asked the coach, he also confirmed their aim was to finish in the top four and he was very confident about their chances.

Sommet lost 4 of their first 5 games and for many, they were on a trajectory that we all expected them to be.

However, the coach was very confident in their chances to finish top 4 and was happy with the way the team was playing.

Sommet went on to win 4 of their next 6 games and closed the first round with a 5-6 record.

During the mid-season transfer, the boss did what many of us expected.

He brought in reinforcements early in the transfer window, a sign that he believed his team can still achieve their goal.

Peter Cheng was the top scorer in the 2024 season, while Kasereka Tembo was the best 3-point shooter and was among the top 6 scorers in the season.

These 2 additions were going to greatly boost Sommet offensively but the question mark was on the big man Fataki Nyembo.

Sommet had to let go of 2 of their forwards/centers Hon Kwany and Akok Peter, and they left a big void.

However, Fataki has come in and been a very big boost already.

In their first game against the Rezlife Saints, all three of them registered double-doubles.

Nyembo Fataki with 14 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.

Peter Cheng with 13 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals.

Kasereka Tembo with 14 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds and 1 steal.

This was a precursor of what was to come and the 3 have all looked incredible.

Peter Cheng has registered a double-double in all his 5 games so far with an average of 18.4 points and 11.2 rebounds.

Fataki Nyembo registered the most points scored in a game this season with 37 against the City Oilers. 

He has also registered 4 double-doubles in 5 games so far with an average of 21 points, 12 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 4.2 steals.

Tembo has not been as explosive but in his first 2 games, he slotted in very well at the point guard position.

He was able to facilitate for others and registered 10 and 12 assists, the second player with consecutive 10+ assist games.

He averages 9 points, 6 assists, 5.2 rebounds, and 2 steals.

That being said, how far off is Sommet from the top 4?

First and foremost, what does top 4 mean?

There is finishing in the top 4 after the regular season but also there is reaching the Semi-Finals during the playoffs.

In this article, we shall put scenarios for both situations.

In the second round so far, Sommet has won 4 of their 5 games played.

This puts them on 9 wins in 16 games and their chances of finishing in the top 4 increased drastically.

After the first round, the KCCA Panthers were in second place with an 8-3 record, Rockets, JT and UCU all had a 7-4 record.

In the second round so far, the Panthers have already registered 5 losses, UCU and Victoria also have 3 losses while JT and the Rockets have 2 losses each.

Most importantly, Sommet has only played against KCCA, a game which they lost and against the Kampala Rockets, whom they defeated.

This means that in order to achieve their goal, Sommet has to approach each game like a final, more so against the teams that were above them.

If they can win 8 games in the second round, they will have a big chance of cracking the top 4 but 9 wins will surely put them there.

The second instance is the playoffs.

As things look, Sommet is headed for the playoffs and with their current form, they look like a team that will occupy from number 3 to number 6.

If they can finish in those positions, they put themselves in a very good position of potentially even making the finals.

The only feared team as of now is the Namuwongo Blazers who have locked down the number one seed.

All the teams below them can beat each other as there is not a very big gap between them.

This means that if Sommet can get some good wins in the second round, they will bring fear factor to their opponents.

Sommet should try to finish in either number 3 or 6 so that they can avoid the Namuwongo Blazers in the semifinals.

Currently, they look like a team that can cause trouble and are in fine form.

There is one caveat though. The playoffs are most likely to be played after the Afrobasket both for the men and women.

That means that there will be more than 5 weeks when players are ‘inactive’ and a lot can happen in that time.

Borderline, Sommet is a far much better side than they were in the first round and they are on course of registering 9 wins in the second round alone.