The Namuwongo Blazers made a loud statement in Game One of the National Basketball League (NBL) semifinal playoffs by cruising to an emphatic 89-62 victory over the UCU Canons at the Lugogo Indoor Arena. It was a dominant performance from the second quarter onwards and the Blazers made a clear statement to the Canons; there’s levels to this game.

Coming into the game, the Blazers, having finished as the number one seed and the fact that when the 2 teams met in round 2, UCU was completely dismantled in a 39-82 loss, were heavy favorites to win the game.

However, when the game tipped off, the Canons started with fire. They took an early 7-0 run before the Blazers could settle. Before the quarter winded down, the Blazers hit a pair of 3-point shots and the game was tied at 17 points apiece after the first period.

Once again, the Canons started the second quarter on a high as they scored on each of their first 3 possessions and took a 6-point lead after 3 minutes. The game quickly turned around in the final 5 minutes of the half.

Namuwongo upped their game defensively and the Canons froze. It was though they had been struck by Subzero (fictional character from Mortal Kombat) and they couldn’t do anything on the offensive end. The Blazers closed the half with a 17-0 run to lead the game 46-31 at the halftime break. To make this run even more impressive, the Blazers forced UCU into 7 turnovers and score 10 points from turnovers in those 5 minutes.

In the third quarter it was the Innocent Ochera show. Man was ignited and he went off for 19 points with 5 3-point shots made. Ochera was on fire and his teammates helped create for him the scoring opportunities.

Namuwongo Blazers scored 26 points in the quarter but the Canons also were in rhythm on the offensive end. They made 9 of their 18 attempts from the field and mastered 22 points in the quarter. Despite that, they still trailed by 19 points and the idea of a comeback was an illusion.

When you thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, it did. UCU started the quarter well and got a couple of baskets early on. They cut the deficit to 14 points and many thought they were onto something. However, the situation became critical for them in the final minutes.

They were limited to just 4 points in the last 7 minutes of the game whilst the Nam Blazers scored 15 points to win the game 89-62.

Player Stats

Kasereka Tembo led the way in scoring with 22 points and a team high 5 assists. Innocent Ochera had 21 points with 15 coming from the 3-point line while Peter Obleng scored 13 points.

For the UCU Canons, Daniel Muganzi led the way with 12 points and 5 rebounds. While Lwabaga Ibanda and Flore Dushime had 9 and 8 points respectively.

Game Two

With game one behind us, the focus of the 2 teams shall turn to game 2 which shall take place on Sunday 25th July at the Lugogo Indoor Arena. The UCU Canons have to adjust in a lot of areas if they are to get a win against this Blazers side. Can they level the series?