Peter Cheng, the Nam Blazers Center Forward made a statement return to the finals series against UPDF Tomahawks with a double double of 23 points and 16 Rebs. Cheng had not featured in both Tomahawks wins – sidelined by a wrist injury in game two and a UCE Exam in game III.
A very tightly contested game going into halftime with the Tomahawks holding a frail one point lead at 46-45 but then defensive lapses sending the Blazers into a run and the consequent third quarter advantage of 24-13. Despite winning the fourth 18-14, it wasn’t enough for a meaningful resurgence for the Tomahawks losing, 83-77.
Felix Mukunzi of UPDF went off for a double double of 25 points and 11 rebs on a 3 of 4 shooting from outside the arc. But perhaps , UPDF’s undoing was having their star forward Moses Muhumuza foul out with 7 minutes and 15 seconds left to play in the fourth. Muhumuza, by the time of his exit from the game had tallied 16 points.
Having three players in the high double digit scores boosted the Nam Blazers offense which struggled in game two and three. Vicent Yiki and Ruai Luak who had been criticized for not coming to the party in game three when they each scored 4 points in a 70-50 blowout loss – combined for 39 points with Yiki dropping 21 points and Ruai , 18 points.
With game two and game three blowouts of Nam Blazers, you can almost think that UPDF got a little too confident – Or perhaps they forgot about Peter Cheng. The pressure to lift the trophy on the night they invited the First Daughter Natasha Museveni might have gotten to them. For the precedence of a free flowing game that had been set in the first half, Tomahawks were indecisive and careless with the ball in second half half. Blazers made 3 turnovers less with 19 while UPDF made 22 turnovers. This difference in turnovers is a perfect explanation for the 6 point difference in the scores.
As it stands, the tie-breaking game five will be played this evening (Sun Oct-27), 4:00PM at the YMCA. Finally, this affair that has lasted the full series will be put to bed.
C.E. Brian | Twitter: @Cucubrian
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