By Brown Msyani
Savio crushed Young Warriors 69-28 at the National Indoor Stadium yesterday to book a date with ABC in the semifinal of the National Basketball League.
With Paschal Nsana and Sylvian Iyunzu firing on both cylinders, Savio got the game underway on a high tempo and managed to build an early double-digit lead.
Savio were leading 14-4 until the end of the first quarter and mounted more pressure on dispirited Young Warriors to hold a 23- point advantage until the interval.
The teams went to the breather with Young Warriors looking destined to their second straight defeat. They were trailing by 34-11 points.
After the resumption, Savio continued to trouble Young Warriors and managed to add 16 points as opposed to 10 of their opponents.
The final quarter saw Young Warriors running out of steam and conceded 18 more points that took the lead beyond their reach.
Nsana was the top scorer for his team after firing 16 points followed by Iyunzu with 10 while William Muze scored eight points for Young Warriors.
On their way to the semifinal, Savio defeated Oilers 70-65, Dodoma Spurs (90-67) before dismantling the Young Warriors. They will take on ABC tomorrow.
ABC sailed through to the semi-final after thrashing Baptists of Kilimanjaro 111-76 on Tuesday
In another game, Oilers romped into the semi-final after defeating Spurs 52-42. They will now face defending champions JKT tomorrow.
Spurs started the match brilliantly as to lead 16-5 in the first quarter and 28-27 until halftime, but they failed to guard their opponents who scored freely in the remaining quarters.
In the third quarter alone, Oilers put in scintillating displays to notch 34 points against four of Spurs.
Spurs ,who were smarting from the defeat to Savio, fought desperately to overturn the score, but their efforts were in vain.
Oilers' scorers Lusajo Samuel and Nyoni Mcharo continued to shine in the tournament after chalking 19 and 11 points respectively.
JKT qualified for the semifinal after clobbering Mzinga of Morogoro 99-60 on Monday.