It took Uganda three quarters to make their superiority tell against Tanzania in the Mapinduzi basketball Cup on Thursday.
Today’s contest should not be so drawn-out for Mandy Juruni’s side even if it is against tournament hosts Zanzibar.
Kassim Nagwere scored a team-high 10 points on his debut, all coming in a blistering fourth quarter as Uganda beat Tanzania 60-40 in their opener of the competition.
Relying on his explosive drive, Nagwere earned himself multiple trips to the line, where he made all his points as Uganda outscored Tanzania 24-4 in the final period to break open a game that was tied 36-all at the end of the third quarter.
Stephen Omony and Henry Malinga also scored 10 points apiece while debutants Geoffrey Soro and Syrus Kiviri contributed eight and seven points respectively.
Tanzania are relatively at home in Zanzibar and, as such, were always bound to make life hard for Uganda. For the first three quarters, they matched them. But Nagwere, whose ability to get to rim adds a new dimension to Uganda’ attack, took over the show. And Uganda cruised.
Zanzibar, who lost heavily to Tanzania on Wednesday, should not complicate things for Uganda, who have two other debutants in Daniel Juuko and Josh Johnson. The latter scored five points against Tanzania, to go along with some impressive defence on Yusuf Mohammed.
Mapinduzi Cup
Uganda v Zanzibar
Thursday’s result
Uganda 60 Tanzania 40
By Charles Mutebi, The New Vision