The NBL Finals will return for game 4 on Friday 9th August at the Lugogo Indoor Arena but as things stand, the City Oilers lead the series 2-1. In the 3 games played so far, we have seen a number of things both tactical and social. In this article, we shall delve into them.
28 points scorer loses
In all the 3 games, we have had a player register 28 points. However, the player’s team has lost the game on all those occasions. In game one, Patrick Rembert scored 28 points in a losing effort. Franck Nyembo then scored 28 in game 2 but the Nam Blazers lost. In game 3, Nyembo once again scored 28 points but he had a chance to score more but he missed 2 free throws and an open layup deep in overtime. The Blazers lost that game.
Nam Blazers poor 3-point shooting
With the exception of game one, the Blazers had very poor shooting nights from games 2 and 3. In game 2, they scored just 1 3-point shot from 26 attempts. Game 3 was slightly better but still underwhelming. They scored 5 from 33 attempts.
Better 3-point shooting team wins
The team that has shoot more 3-point shots always wins the game. In game one, Namuwongo scored 11 threes while City Oilers scored just 5. The Blazers took that game. In game 2, City Oilers scored 6 while Namuwongo made just 1. The Oilers won the game and leveled the series. The pattern continued in game 3 as City Oilers made 12 3-point shots to the Blazers’ 5. They won the game and took a 2-1 lead in the series.
Team with more points in the paint loses
Whenever a team has more points in the paint, they are usually expected to win. However, this hasn’t been the case in this finals. City Oilers outscored Namuwongo in the paint, 32 to 22 in game one but lost the game. Namuwongo then had 20 more points in the paint that City Oilers in game 2 but still never won. Game 3 was similar to game 2 as the Blazers’ scored 42 points in the paint compared to 22 for the Oilers but guess what, the Oilers won.
Points in the paint and 3-point shooting usually go hand in hand. If a team is struggling from beyond the arc, they will try to score as much as they can around the rim and that is what we have seen in the 3 games so far. We are yet to see a game were both teams have a balanced 3-point shooting and points in the paint. Till now, it has been one or the other.
Same number of free throws made
The 2 teams have scored the same number of free throws so far. Namuwongo scored 14, 18 and 15 in games 1, 2 and 3 respectively. The City Oilers scored 18, 19 and 10 in the 3 games respectively. There hasn’t been any advantage when it comes to the free throws and the conversion rate has been almost the same with both teams averaging under 65%. If one of the team can improve their free throw conversion rate, maybe they will have an advantage.
Blazers’ better in sharing the ball
When you look at the assists, Namuwongo has performed way better than the City Oilers. They have made 72 assists compared to 54 for the Oilers. What is even more surprising is that the numbers could have been even more if the conversion of the 3-point shots was better.
More players with double digit points scored wins
Throughout the series, we have observed that whoever has more players scoring double-digit points wins the game. In game one, only Rembert scored double digit points and they lost. They Blazers had 3 players in double digits and that has been the case for all the 3 games. However, for the City Oilers, they had 5 and 4 players in double digits in games 2 and 3 respectively and they ended up winning both games.
Almost comebacks
The teams which have lost in the series have all attempted to comeback. City oilers trailed by 17 points in game 1 but came back to within 6 points in the fourth quarter. They never completed the comeback. In game 2, the Blazers trailed by as many as 17 points and they came back to within 2 points. They had a chance to tie the game but missed and City oilers won the game. In game 3, The Blazers trailed in the fourth quarter and managed to force overtime, However, they never won the game.
Away from the statistics, there were a number of other observations;
Hajji Santur vs Patrick Rembert
In game 2, the City Oilers’ boss Hajji Santur exchanged some words with Patrick Rembert after he had made a 5-second violation. This was with under 2 minutes left and Namuwongo had mounted a comeback, however, the Oilers went on to win the game.
Hajji Santur vs Nam Blazers CEO, Daniel Obol
After the controversial ending of regular time in game 3, Hajji Santur was protesting and the Nam Blazers CEO entered the chat. The 2 had to be separated. Later on, the referees were having a word with Hajji and once again, the Blazers’ CEO entered the chat. This was peak drama.
Controversial game 3
Game 3 had a lot of drama more so at the end of regular time. After Franck Nyembo tying the game, the Oilers had a chance to win it with 2 seconds left. Patrick Rembert was then fouled but after a long discussion, it was adjudged that by the time the shot went off, time was done. Chaos happened and there were a lot pf protests from the City Oilers management and players.
Magical moments
There have been a couple of magical moments. The back-to-back threes by Franck Nyembo top the charts. When all hopes had been lost, Nyembo gave them a lifeline. The whole Arena was in disbelief as no one had seen this coming.
The other big magical moment was the block by Jonathan Komagum in game 2. When Nyembo came to layup and tie the game, Komagum delivered a well-timed block and he scored with a tip-in layup on the other side on the same possession.
The fans
There have been very many fans turning up for the game which improves the atmosphere. The noise, the singing, the celebrations have all made the finals such a beautiful event to be a part of.
Game 4 will take place on Friday 14th at the Lugogo Indoor Arena. This time around, we shall open with the women’s semifinal tie between the KCCA Leopards and the UCU Lady Canons at 7:00 pm and then the men’s game 4 with tipoff at 9:00 pm.
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