Maimuna Nabbosa scored 8 points in crunch time as the JT Lady Jaguars defeated the Magic Stormers 61-55 in game 3 to complete the sweep. This victory sent them to their second NBL final in a row. This game was as tough as they get for the Lady Jaguars but they managed to see it out.

Ahead of the game, the Magic Stormers trailed 2-0 in the series and they needed to win in order to keep their season alive. The fact that they had done well in the second halves of the first 2 games was a confidence booster for them. However, picking a win against the number one seed was not going to be an easy task.

Magic Stormers started the game with urgency and they took the first quarter 19-16. Christine Nakito and Kur Ajah were doing a lot of work in the paint on both ends of the floor and they were a key reason as to why the Stormers led the game.

The Stormers extended their lead to 7 points in the second quarter but their offense trailed off as the game progressed. The Lady jaguars made a 14-4 run to take a 3-point lead. The Stormers then scored the final 2 baskets of the half to lead the game 33-32 at the halftime break.

Competitive Second half

The third quarter was untidy for both teams as a total of 22 points were scored. Of these, 9 came from the free throw line. By the end of the quarter, JT led the game 45-42.

The Lady Jaguars score first to extend their lead to 5 points in the fourth quarter but Daphine Adong replied with 3 unanswered baskets to give Magic Stormers the lead. Auma Angela then added a 3-pointer and at this point, Magic Stormers looked like they had the game in their hands.

That was the case until Nabbosa happened. She scored a huge triple to give Jt the lead and went on to score more clutch 5 points. The defense of the Lady jaguars also helped a lot as they limited the Stormers to just 4 points in the final 5 minutes of the game.

Top Performers

Maimuna Nabbosa led the scorers’ charts with 17 points and a 60% field goal efficiency. Shakirah Nanvubya registered a team-high 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 7 points. Bridget Aber was also in double digits and she finished with 11 points.

Kur Ajah registered 12 points and 8 rebounds while Auma Angela and Daphine Adong had 11 and 10 points respectively. Christine Nakito was very integral and she led in rebounding with 14 rebounds and an additional 7 points.

What next?

The JT Lady jaguars will be playing in their second NBL Finals and they await the winner between the UCU Lady Canons and the KCCA Leopards. UCU currently leads the series 2-1 with game 4 schedule to take place on Friday 14th August.

The Magic Stormers will play in the third place game and they await the loser in the UCU-KCCA series. This will be their second consecutive season playing in this game and they will be looking to secure a victory.