Basketball in Africa

MTN-FUBA LEAGUE
Weekend results
Men
Marines 70 Hawks 59
Hawks 65 Lions 51
Miracle 61 Crane 57
Women
Sparks 62 Crane 23
Bucks 37 Rhino 34
Canons 80 Lakers 42
Rangers 60 Crane 20

By Charles Mutebi

BONIFACE Okello tied for a game-high 25 points with the Gulu Hawks' Moses Ochan but ultimately claimed victory as the Nkumba Marines won 70-59 at Namboole last weekend.

The Hawks humiliated the Marines 97-73 in the first round, but this time round Okello helped the Marines claim redemption with his team’s key individual performance. He was supported by Carol Bisereko and Datson Ngati who chipped in with 14 and 10 points respectively.

The win took the Entebbe-based university team to 19 points and helped them displace the Mogas Falcons from fifth place although the defending champions have two games in hand.
The loss was not catastrophic for the Hawks who went into the fixture last on the table. They defeated the KCC Lions 65-51 in their following match to take their points tally to 15 and climb to eighth place. Also the Miracle Eagles soared over Crane High to win the other men’s top flight match 61-57.

In the women’s league, there were victories for the Makerere Sparks, Lady Bucks and Kampala International University Rangers. But it was the Lady Canons 80-42 demolition of the Victoria Lakers that served as another reminder of that team’s title credentials.