The Namuwongo Blazers saw off the JT Jaguars in game one of the quarter-finals that ended 77-60. Despite the Blazers winning by 17 points, the final score doesn’t tell the real story.

Coming into this game, the Blazers were overwhelming favourites and not many gave the Jaguars a chance. Given that the last meeting between these teams ended in a 93-66 Blazers’ victory, many thought it would be a walk in the park.

Namuwongo got off to a wonderful start as they led the game 26-15. At this point, many thought it would, once again, be a very dominant performance. However, the JT Jaguars levelled up in the second quarter.

They outscored the Blazers 20-13 to cut the deficit to 4 points heading into the halftime break. George Agasi had his moments in the second quarter and he scored 12 of the Jaguars’ 20 points.

In the third quarter, the Jaguars never allowed the Blazers to take amass a significant lead. Every time the Blazers scored, the Jaguars always responded and the lead never went above 8 points in the quarter. The Jaguars kept hanging in and by the end of the quarter, the game was 59-52.

In the fourth quarter, the Blazers engaged another gear defensively and the Jaguars couldn’t cope. They limited the Jaguars to just 8 points while scoring 18 to win the game 77-60.

Despite a 17-point loss, the Jaguars put up a good show although they couldn’t match the Blazers.

Player stats

Nam Blazers

Peter Obleng 21 pts, 11 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl

Innocent Ochera 17 pts, 4 reb

Anthony Chukwurah 12 pts, 5 reb

JT Jaguars

Ian Duncan Lubwama 22 pts, 10 reb, 3 ast

George Agasi 18 pts, 12 reb

The two teams will meet for game 2 on Wednesday 15thJuly at ABJA Park.