Basketball in Africa

by Sande Bashaija
Namboole

RESULTS
KCC Lions 51-65 Hawks
Livingstone 64-49 Sharing
Bushcourt 65-59 MBC Rocks
Marines 70-59 Gulu Hawks
Amazon 34-37 Lady Bucks

Nkumba University Marines recorded their first win in three second round outings, beating Gulu Hawks 70-59 at Namboole on Saturday. Following two straight losses to Kyambogo Warriors and lowly Kampala City Council (KCC) Lions, Marines needed a morale-boosting victory and they got everything right.

It was Gulu Hawks’ first game of first round after their date with defending champions Falcons was called off due to the ongoing financial crisis at the basketball governing body-Fuba, and the long break seemed to take a toll on the upcountry team’s performance.

Marines took control at the start, finishing the first quarter leading 22-13 and went into recess leading 40-27. Hawks, who are now confident of finishing the regular season in a comfortable mid-table position, showed resilience but still fell short in the third quarter 13-15 and their 19-15 victory in the last session only reduced the big gap.

Former Most Valuable Player (MVP) Boniface Okello got back his scoring touch, garnering a team high 25 points while Carrol Bisereko added 14 for the Nkumba side.

Moses Ochan got 25 and Denis Akena 14 points for Gulu Hawks. In the men’s Second Division, Abel Emwodu recorded 15 points, leading Livingstone to a convincing 64-49 victory over Sharing Youth. Kyambogo Warriors are setting the pace with their unbeaten start to the season.