JKT, ABC and Ukonga Kings have sailed into the Dar es Salaam Basketball Association (BD) RBA League semis play off, joining Pazi who were the first to qualify to the top- four stage.
The three teams concluded their best of three quarter finals campaign with impressive wins at the Don Bosco Oysterday courts in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday night.
JKT eliminated the Oilers with 2-1 wins. They won the first 84-68, before losing 90-77 in their game two.
They went to prove their might in game three with a 70-63 victory to advance to the semis. Jackson Brown and Baraka Sadick who netted 15 and 12 points respectively were instrumental in the JKT’s victory over Oilers on the day.
Douglas Kandulu was in fine form, netting 20 points for the Oilers while Sponican Ngoma added 19 points and Maxwell Ngonga poured in 10 points, but they were not enough to downsize JKT.
During the match, the Oilers started very strongly and managed to stamp a lead 17 – 13 at the end of the first quarter, but JKT corrected their mistake in the second quarter to claim a 14 -19 lead, and in the third quarters, JKT also led 19-18 before closing with 19- 14 at the final quarter to seal a 70-63 victory.
Oilers team’s chairman, Okare Emesu blamed poor scoring for the loss as his team missed several chances which he said contributed to the loss.
“We could have won if my players; Maxwell Ngonga, Miyasi Mnyamoko, and Sponical Ngoma had used those opportunities to score mostly in the second and third quarters,” said Emesu.
JKT’s massive support from their spectators played a big role to motivate their team to stamp a good win after they lost 90-77 in game two over the weekend.
However, despite their loss, the Oilers showed fighting spirit that made their fans cheer for them. Former RBA League champions, JKT will meet Ukonga Kings who defeated the defending champions Savio in the men’s first quarter-final on Saturday night, while ABC will confront Pazi in the second semi-final.
National Basketball League (NBL) champions, ABC carved a 69-44 win over UDSM Outsiders to sail into the semifinals. They led from the first quarter with 15-10, stamped a 23-8 win in second, and then added 16-8 before finishing off their opponents with 15-18 in the final quarter.
Pazi were the first team to book a place in League semis with a convincing 2-0 game victory over Vijana City Bulls over the weekend.
