20 November 2011
UGANDA : Power and Warriors on course for finale
Written by Felix Eupal
With the post-season finally here, the most eagerly anticipated phase of the basketball season starts tomorrow as Warriors take on Canons while Power squares off against Eagles.
Felix Eupal previews the best-of-five series that will separate boys from men.
Kyambogo Warriors V UCU Canons
It’s unlikely the matchup will live up to last season’s epic that stretched to five games before Warriors prevailed to the final. One thing for sure is that it will be a lively contest as long as it lasts. The Canons have struggled all season and nearly missed out on the fourth and last playoff slot.
That they also lost both regular season games to Warriors signals how one-sided this tie looks on paper. Add to the mix a depleted squad and Nick Natuhereza, the Canons coach, will need divine intervention to overcome the favourites.
The Malinga brothers Eric and Henry, alongside Michael Kariuki, are dominant in the paint, which explains why Warriors had the best defence all season.
Last weekend, Warriors edged Power to snatch the top seeding and should Warriors star man Ivan Enabu maintain his wizardry, the series could be up in just three games.
Prediction: Warriors set for clean sweep.
Dmark Power V Miracle Eagles
Against Warriors, Power conspired to let a six-point lead turn into a two-point loss with just one and a half minutes on the clock to shake their rock solid confidence. However, they have all the qualities to defend their title.
“The match was a lesson of the things we don’t need to do in the dying minutes,” says Bannes Ankunda, the Power coach.
On the other hand, Miracle may boast of the league’s two biggest names in Norman Blick and Stephen Omony, but the team has one big flaw; a lack of focus. This explains why they lost four of their last five games of the regular season.
Blick and Omony may not be enemies but neither have they ever been the best of friends, and if Miracle is to qualify for their first ever playoff final, the egoistic pair have to be hugely involved in teamwork.
Often times when Miracle is trailing, we have seen Omony abandon his biggest strength as a shooting guard and instead switch to play point guard. The confusion and lack of balance of roles best answers why they have had a poor offence this season.
Joe Burua, the Eagles coach, has to go back to the drawing board to get a formula to stop two more Enabu brothers; Jimmy and Emmanuel, who define Power’s offence.
Prediction: Power to advance 3-1
With the post-season finally here, the most eagerly anticipated phase of the basketball season starts tomorrow as Warriors take on Canons while Power squares off against Eagles.
Felix Eupal previews the best-of-five series that will separate boys from men.
Kyambogo Warriors V UCU Canons
It’s unlikely the matchup will live up to last season’s epic that stretched to five games before Warriors prevailed to the final. One thing for sure is that it will be a lively contest as long as it lasts. The Canons have struggled all season and nearly missed out on the fourth and last playoff slot.
That they also lost both regular season games to Warriors signals how one-sided this tie looks on paper. Add to the mix a depleted squad and Nick Natuhereza, the Canons coach, will need divine intervention to overcome the favourites.
The Malinga brothers Eric and Henry, alongside Michael Kariuki, are dominant in the paint, which explains why Warriors had the best defence all season.
Last weekend, Warriors edged Power to snatch the top seeding and should Warriors star man Ivan Enabu maintain his wizardry, the series could be up in just three games.
Prediction: Warriors set for clean sweep.
Dmark Power V Miracle Eagles
Against Warriors, Power conspired to let a six-point lead turn into a two-point loss with just one and a half minutes on the clock to shake their rock solid confidence. However, they have all the qualities to defend their title.
“The match was a lesson of the things we don’t need to do in the dying minutes,” says Bannes Ankunda, the Power coach.
On the other hand, Miracle may boast of the league’s two biggest names in Norman Blick and Stephen Omony, but the team has one big flaw; a lack of focus. This explains why they lost four of their last five games of the regular season.
Blick and Omony may not be enemies but neither have they ever been the best of friends, and if Miracle is to qualify for their first ever playoff final, the egoistic pair have to be hugely involved in teamwork.
Often times when Miracle is trailing, we have seen Omony abandon his biggest strength as a shooting guard and instead switch to play point guard. The confusion and lack of balance of roles best answers why they have had a poor offence this season.
Joe Burua, the Eagles coach, has to go back to the drawing board to get a formula to stop two more Enabu brothers; Jimmy and Emmanuel, who define Power’s offence.
Prediction: Power to advance 3-1
# posted by afrbk : 14:20
