A1 Challenge 74-69 Javon
UCU Canons 76-59 Warriors
UCU Canons did what they do best on Wednesday night as they defeated Warriors 76-59 to force a decisive game in their quarter final series.
Led by Kenyan small forward Brian Namake, the university side corrected the errors made in game one and were in control of the game from tip off. The first quarter ended with last year’s finalists enjoying a 5-point advantage (15-10) over Sam Obol’s charges.
The lead grew to 9 points (30-21) as the two sides went into the half time break and there was no way back for the two-time champions.
The Canons ran riot in the third quarter with Jonathan Egau, Namake and Steve Wundi all functioning on offence. They scored 20 points and limited Warriors to 12 to take a 17-point cushion into the final 10 minutes of the game.
The two sides matched each other in the final quarter as they scored 26 apiece and the Mukono outfit leveled the series at 1-all to confirm a decisive game on Sunday.
Namake scored a team high 16 points while Egau and Wundi contributed 14 and 10 respectively. Tanzanian forward Fadhil Chuma scored 11 points and collected 10 rebounds on the night.
Warriors’ offence will have to improve massively if they are to stand a chance in the decider.
Only Jude Ochen, who scored 4 of his 8 attempts from beyond the arc, had double figures for the Kyambogo outfit. His 17 points, a game high, were not enough to send the side to the semifinals with a clean sweep of the stubborn UCU. Philip Ameny and Mark Opio contribute 9 points each in Warriors’ losing effort.
In the ladies’ category, A1 Challenge advanced to the semifinals with a clean sweep of Javon Ladies after a hard fought 74-69 win in the first game of the evening.