by Sande Bashaija
Wandegeya
Tomorrow at YMCA
Leopards v Rangers 6pm
DMark Power v KIU 8pm
Something quite unusual happened prior to DMark Power’s MTN-Fuba League second semi-final encounter against Kampala International University (KIU) on Sunday. Few minutes to tip-off, Power had no playing kit.
Apparently, one of the teammates, who had the jerseys, got held up in traffic jam trying to drive to the venue at YMCA, Wandegeya. Having outclassed their opponents 94-62 in Game One, last Friday many expected Power to record another easy win and establish a 2-0 lead in the best of five series.
It was never to be as an inspired KIU side hit back 71-68 to level the series at 1-all. Whereas some Power players admitted that the pre-match hitch could have contributed to their loss, the champions are not panicking.
“To say that KIU can eliminate us is a joke,” Power centre player David Kiberu noted after the game in which reigning MVP Ben Komakech and Donald Blick missed easy lay-ups that would have settled the contest in the dying moments.
“We failed to get things right from the start but that won’t be the case in the next fixture,” Kiberu added. The two teams clash again tomorrow in Game Three at YMCA and Power would ideally be under pressure to put things right.
But even Alex Kasendwa, the Power team manager, seems unbothered. “It was just a wake-up call and no one is panicking,” he said. However, KIU, playing in only their second semi-final are ready to make Power pay. “We were under pressure after losing the opener, now it’s their turn,” KIU skipper Markmort Orom noted.