UCU Canons face do-or-die clash against Rockets

Tuesday, September 9
*Miracle Eaglets 60-77 JT Lady Jaguars (0-2)
*JT Jaguars 62-77 City Oilers (0-1)

Wednesday, September 10
*Magic Stormers Vs KCCA Leopards – 7pm
*UCU Canons Vs Kampala Rockets – 9pm

UCU Canons will be fighting to keep their season alive when they take on Kampala Rockets in game two of their best-of-three National Basketball League (NBL) quarterfinal series.

The Canons slipped to a painful 49-50 defeat in game one on Saturday, meaning another loss will send the Rockets into the semifinals.

UCU looked to be cruising with a one-point lead in the dying seconds, but Pauti Ozias Kikomba stunned them with a decisive layup with just nine seconds left.

The Canons still had chances to snatch it back, but Flore Dushime and Lwabaga Ibanda saw successive late efforts bounce off the rim as their hopes faded.

The contest was tightly balanced from start to finish, with small margins proving the difference. UCU dominated the glass with a 52-41 rebounding edge but were undone by costly errors, including 21 turnovers, poor bench production (just 15 points), and ice-cold shooting from deep, missing 17 of their 22 three-point attempts.

Coach Nicholas Natuhereza will be counting on his side to respond, especially offensively, after Ibanda and Joel Kayiira who were the only to score in double digits, combining for 22 points.

The Canons will need more scoring contributions from the rest of the roster to stand a chance of leveling the series.

On the other hand, Rockets coach Daniel Juuko will hope for a better display from Mpiya Juf, who managed only three points despite being a consistent double-digit scorer in the regular season.