Fixtures tomorrow at Lugogo
City Oilers vs Betway Power (Oilers lead best of five semifinal series 2-0)
UCU Lady Canons vs. JKL Ladies (UCU lead best of five series 1-0)
Sunday results
KCCA Leopards 64-48 A1 Challenge
KIU 71-55 Warriors
City Oilers 77-59 Betway Power
UCU Lady Canons 72-52 JKL Ladies
KAMPALA. Betway Power need to win three straight games starting with today’s game three of the best-of-five semifinal against City Oilers if they are to reach this season’s National Basketball League final.
Coach Arnold “Mchuda” Lando has consequently called for a return to basics ahead of today’s game three at Lugogo. City Oilers raced into a 2-0 series lead with a commanding 77-59 win at Lugogo on Sunday evening. The coach whose team came into the post season having defeated Oilers in both regular season games is particularly incensed by his team’s inability to make use of a perceived size advantage. “There are things we cannot continue doing like allowing them uncontested shots,” Power coach Arnold Lando bemoaned.
The Oilers outrebounded Power again 60-53 with Landry Ndikumana picking a game high 17 rebounds to accompany his 12 points to compound Lando’s frustrations. “We are giving them many second chance points yet we have bigger players and that must change,” he added. Joseph Ikong led with 19 points while Michael Makiadi contributed 11 and 16 rebounds. While Michael Kojo added a further 11 boards Mchuda still expects more particularly from his bench players.
There is some good news for the team however with Mchuda revealing Paul Odong will play a part in the must-win Tuesday game. The guard played 16 minutes scoring nine points before suffering an ankle problem. “He is getting better but he could even have returned on Sunday although we did not want to take chances,” Mchuda explained. They will also have to look out for their former old boys Jimmy Enabu and Ben Komakech part of the 2011roster that won Power last title but who played a starring role against them in game two. Jimmy Enabu top scored with 20 points while Komakech also a former Power player added 13. The other men's semifinal is meanwhile evenly poised after a strong defensive display helped KIU level the series to 1-1 with a 71-55 win over Pemba Warriors. Sudi Ulanga continued his renaissance top scoring with 17 points while at the other end they managed to restrict Warriors to a paltry two points in the entire second quarter.