The Kampala Rockets defeated the Namuwongo Blazers 60-65 to hand them a second consecutive loss.

The Blazers had been undefeated till Friday 27th when they fell to the UCU Canons in a very eventful game.

Very many years were on them ahead of this game and people wanted to see how they would respond after a setback.

However, for a Namuwongo Blazers fan, that first half performance was worrying yet very exciting for the hate watchers.

The Kampala Rockets led the game 22-15 after the first quarter but what the Blazers found disturbing were the 7 turnovers which showed recklessness.

The Rockets also hit 4 3-point shots and they put themselves in a very good position.

If you thought the situation couldn’t get worse for the Blazers, you thought wrong.

They scored only 12 points in the second quarter and had 4/16 from the field.

To make it worse, in the final 2 minutes of the quarter, they scored 0 and this played in favor of the Rockets.

Kampala Rockets hit more 3 3-point shots and they were cruising at halftime with a 42-27 lead.

The second half was a big improvement but not the dominant one that we saw in multiple games in the first round.

Defensively, the Blazers did their work particularly in the third quarter where they limited the Rockets to just 8 points.

However on offense, shots weren’t going in and this was worrying for the fans.

Namuwongo moved the ball quite well, but the shots just couldn’t drop.

This was noticed even in the final quarter when Muhwezi had all the time in the world to tie the game but made an airball.

As the fourth quarter approached, the Kampala Rockets led 50-42 and this was a big test for the Blazers to see whether they could make a comeback.

Namuwongo started the quarter with a 10-1 run to take a 1-point lead and at this point, the odds were in their favor.

The drama unfolded inside the final minute and Namuwongo made a lot of mistakes there, ultimately losing the game.

The Blazers led by 1 point with 55 seconds left and Tonny Drileba made a huge costly turnover.

Mpiya Juf was fouled and he went to the line, making both free throws to give the Rockets the lead.

At this point, some thought the Blazers should have called a timeout but they opted not to.

The Rockets did very well defensively on that possession, made it very difficult for the Blazers to get off a shot and by the time Drileba got off the shot, it was well contested and he missed.

Namuwongo drew a quick foul as expected but Gideon Kasasa made 2 free throws to make it a 3-point game.

This next possession summed up the Blazers performance on the night.

Drileba found Ivan Muhwezi in the corner, but despite having all the time in the world and no contest, Ivan was in a rush and he made an airball.

The Rockets went on to see out the game 65-60 marking their 11th win of the season.

Match Stats

Kampala Rockets

Brian Opio 22 pts, 6 reb

Gideon Kasasa 14 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl

Christian Ndibu 9 pts, 13 reb

Mpiya Juf 10 pts, 5 reb, 3 stl

Nam Blazers

Innocent Ochera 13 pts

Tonny Drileba 10 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast

The Namuwongo Blazers have now lost consecutive games and have a 16-2 record.

Even though they lose all their remaining games, they have already locked down the number one seed.

They face Sommet next on Friday 4th in what is expected to be a mouth watering game.

The Kampala Rockets have an 11-7 record and are still on course for a top 4 finish.

They take on UCU Canons next on Wednesday 2nd at Abja Park.