Jinja based side, Metha Phenoms shocked many as they defeated Kampala University in game one of the semifinals. They won the game 63-58 to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

The shock was due to the fact that they had only 7 players and the tempo of the game was high. Because of this, many thought that they would burn out as the game progressed but that was not the case.

Coming into this game, Kampala University had eliminated Ndejje Angels in the quarterfinals. Metha Phenoms had advanced after defeating St Cyprian Kyabakadde. Both those series ended 2-1.

It was a slow start for both teams but it picked up and Kampala University won the first quarter 15-12. They then increased their lead to 7 points during the second quarter but Metha Phenoms responded hard. In the next minutes, Bukenya Martin made 8 points to give the Jinja side the lead. Odong Emmanuel leveled the game with a dunk and at halftime, it was time 31-31.

Joseph Echabu and Mayambala Robert became a problem for K.U in the third quarter. They made 17 of the 19 points for Metha Phenoms. In this quarter, the Jinja side managed to take an 8-point lead to the fourth quarter.  The ending of the third quarter was terrible for K.U. They scored 0 points in over 5 minutes and worse off, they missed 4 consecutive free throws.

The Phenoms kept an arms distance between them and K.U. Just when the University side had thought they were on the verge of a comeback, Godfrey Musinguzi hit a very big 3 to take the lead back to 7 points.

K.U once again fought and cut the deficit to 2 points with over a minute to play. Ddamulira Muguluma and Joseph Echabu made clutch free throws and that was enough for them to secure a 63-58 win.

Top Performers

Joseph Echabu scored a game-high 22 points plus 9 rebounds. Robert Mayambala Junior and Ddamulira Muguluma each registered a double-double. Mayambala had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists while Muguluma finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 2 assists.

Gachick Thoat and Odong Emmanuel both registered double-doubles for Kampala University. Thoat scored a team-high 18 points and 16 rebounds while Odong finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds.

Game Two

The teams shall meet for game two on Saturday 3rd October at the YMCA. This is a very huge game for Kampala University because the last thing they would want is to go down 0-2. However, Metha Phenoms may have more players available on that day and who knows whether that could be the difference.