The opening weekend of the 2026 NBL second round delivered another interesting twist in the relegation battle. The bottom four teams were all in action against each other and the results from those games will be very significant in determining who goes down.

UPDF Tomahawks defeat Kampala Rockets

The UPDF Tomahawks registered a 92-70 victory over the Kampala Rockets. This was the first time that the UPDF Tomahawks have registered successive victories since the semi-finals of the 2025 FUBA Division One.

The Kampala Rockets have struggled a lot in their recent games and this was must win game for them if they were to increase their chances of survival. However, the UPDF Tomahawks had other plans. This was their opportunity to get revenge given that the Rockets are now very weak.

This game holds so much significance because it was the fourth win for the Tomahawks. This puts them 2 wins ahead of both the Kampala Rockets and the JKL Dolphins.

To make things even better, their 22-point win means that they own the tiebreaker against the Kampala Rockets. Should the 2 teams have a similar record at the end of the regulars season, the Tomahawks would be above them.

The Kampala Rockets have 2 wins, against the the JT jaguars and UPDF. However, they don’t own the tiebreaker against UPDF anymore. This means that they have to make sure they secure 4 0r 5 wins in their remaining games and hope that the other teams stumble. However, with a number of players having departed from there, the Kampala Rockets need an urgent solution lest they will be axed.

UMU Flames defeat JKL Dolphins in overtime

In the other game of the day, the UMU Flames defeated the JKL Dolphins 84-79 in a game that was decided I overtime. This game was very dramatic was the UMU Flames almost blew it away.

They led for most of the game but with 1.4 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, Hassan Ssentamu scored a deep three to tie the game and force overtime. However, the UMU Flames made 9-0 run in overtime and managed to secure the win.

Just like the UPDF-Rockets game, this game had a lot of significance regarding the relegation battle. UMM Flames managed to move to 3 wins and are in 10th place ahead of the JKL Dolphins and the Kampala Rockets.

Most importantly for the Flames, they now own the tiebreaker against the JKL Dolphins. In round one, they lost to them by 4 points but the Flames managed to win by 5 points. In a way, one could say that going into overtime helped the UMU Flames more than it did the Dolphins.

UMU Flames need to win as many games as they can but most importantly, they have to defeat the teams near them in the standings. If they can defeat both UPDF and Kampala Rockets, they will be in a very comfortable position.

JKL Dolphins have just 2 wins and need to look for wins sooner than later. They face the UPDF Tomahawks next in a very important game. If they can get a victory in that, they bring themselves back in the equation. If they lose, they push themselves further away from survival.

The relegation battle will be very interesting and every game in which these 4 teams are involved will be very important. Things can turn very fast if a team slips up. Every game counts.