Wednesday, July 13
•UCU Lady Canons 74-58 Nkumba Lady Marines
•Tropical Royals 73-75 KCCA Panthers
KCCA Panthers squeezed past Tropical Royals by the skin of their teeth after a closely contested NBL encounter at Lugogo Arena.
The Panthers were on course for an easy win when they led 56-44 going into the last quarter.
But Tropical Royals fought back, starting with a 14-2 run to tie the game 58-58 midway through the fourth quarter.
It remained a close exchange thereafter as the sides traded blows before Daniel Gaaki delivered a sucker punch with a lay up just about five seconds on the clock to give KCCA a two-point lead.
Tropical Royals almost snatched it at the buzzer but Allan Nandala’s three-point jumper rimmed out as KCCA lived to die another day.
Tropical Royals will blame their slow start but coach Brian Rugyendo will feel his boys left everything on court.
Nandala led with a game high 27 points while Juma Osman added 11 points in a losing effort for the Royals.
Emmanuel Odongkara scored 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting and added 14 rebounds to garner a double-double.
Akok Nyong and Wilson Otweyo added 12 and 10 points for Brian Wathum’s KCCA.
It’s the first win for Panthers in three games and their 10th this campaign as the side seek to move up the table.
It’s a dozen of losses for Tropical Royals who remain on six wins in their first season in
Elsewhere, Bridget Aber scored 19 points and as many rebounds to help short-handed UCU overcome Nkumba Lady Marines.
