National Basketball League reigning champions Namuwongo Blazers’ journey in the Road to BAL Elite 16 ends after back-to-back losses.
Nam Blazers suffered a 92-71 defeat to Johannesburg Giants in the Road to BAL encounter on Wednesday at Kasarani Indoor Arena.
Johannesburg Giants came out of their blocks early but the Blazers responded superbly by creating a seven-point lead (15-8) before their wheels fell off. The 16-0 run from the Johannesburg Giants tied the game 15-15 before they opened a 9-point lead at the end of the opening quarter.
In the second quarter, the Blazers struggled to put their house in order as they missed layups and made very unforced turnovers, thus trailing by 14 points going into the halftime break.
Coming from the locker rooms, Joel Lukoji Banza knocked down a hot 3-point jumpshot but it was not enough to fire up the Blazers as they trailed by eight points (64-56) at the end of the third quarter.
Despite the fight in the final quarter, Johannesburg Giants left the court with a 21-point victory on the day.
Nkosinnathi Sibanyonyi (16 points), Charles Tholo (15 points), Dhieu Abwok (15 points), Daniel Prinsloo (14 points), and Joshua Ozabor led the Giants in double digits.
On the other hand, Mohamed Djite (16 points), Jovan Mooring (14 points), and Peter Obleng (11 points) scored for the Blazers in double digits.