By Dismas Nuwaine
The Uganda Christian University (UCU) Canons have emerged victorious in their highly anticipated third set of the playoff final against the JKL Lady Dolphins.
Coming into the game, the UCU Canons were pretty much the underdogs as they were trailing the JKL Lady Dolphins by two sets to zero.
The Canons, however, brushed aside the repeated criticism that has been coming their way, putting on an emphatic performance that propelled them to victory.
The action-packed and hotly contested clash between the two basketball titans ended with the UCU Lady Canons edging out the Lady Dolphins narrowly by 67 to 62.
“I appreciate the win and how the lads won. We proved to ourselves that we can put up a fighting spirit,” said Samuel David Lukaire, the Sports administrator at UCU.
He also said that the most important feat in any form of sport is a win, and that’s what they just did yesterday.
The captain of the side, Hajara Najjuko Lovi, was impressed with the never-say-never attitude of her teammates that was on display yesterday.
“We kept fighting from the beginning to the end. “They led us by 14 points, but we managed to cover that up and went on to win,” said Lovi.
Starting off the game, the UCU Canons looked to be struggling from the very first minute as they lacked clear precision and control of the ball, which they numerously lost to the hungry opposition ladies.
The Lady Dolphins capitalized on this instability and confusion within the UCU Canons camp, inflicting upon them nine consecutive points without any reply.
The Lady Canons attempted a comeback after the first timeout, only to fall short to the seemingly undisputed Lady Dolphins.
With this, the Lady Dolphins looked to be flying sky-high as they had total control over the game and, by the end of the quarter, had established a 12-point difference between them and the Lady Canons.
The second quarter wasn’t any different from the first, with the Lady Dolphins dominating much of the ball and the Canon side looking like a team in despair as they lost ball after ball.
By the end of the quarter, the Lady Dolphins had further increased their advantage to a 14-point difference, with the score 39 to 25, and they looked well in control of the quarter.
The third quarter was a revelation for the Canon side, who came back onto the court with an air of confidence, scoring basket after basket till they reduced the deficit to just 7 points between the pair.
For the first time, there was a sense of liveliness among the Lady Canon supporters for much of the evening as the reality of a sensational comeback became clearer.
The players, energized by this fanfare, added a further four baskets, ending the quarter trailing by just three points, 50 to 47.
The fourth quarter started where the third ended as the UCU Lady Canons took the game to the Lady Dolphins, and by the first time out, the two drew 57 to 57.
The Lady Canons took the lead in dramatic fashion with 12 seconds to go and added a further two baskets with just two seconds left on the clock, winning the match in scintillating fashion.
The two teams will be playing the fourth set of the seven-set thriller this Wednesday in what is promising to be a stunner of a game.
“It’s going to be a fight and it will come down to who wants it most. We believe it is possible since we have already beaten them. We have to have the right courage, zeal, and will to fight,” assured Samuel.
