Dodoma Spurs edged Baptist of Kilimanjaro 57-53 in the men’s category of the National Basketball League (NBL) match played at the National Indoor Stadium in Dar es Salaam, yesterday.
The match brought together two sides with identical game approach but it was the winners who enjoyed possession and ensured they open a sizeable score margin particularly in the last two quarters.
Both sides had no chance whatsoever to progress to the semi-finals and it was hardly surprising to see them opt for relaxed game for the better part.
The second quarter however turned out to be much more thrilling as Baptist struggled hard and leveled the score.
Spurs took a narrow 17-15 lead in the first quarter but Baptist leveled 29-29 at the end of the second quarter. Spurs went on reclaimed the lead to dictate 50-46 in the third quarter.
Allen Lemunge and Humphrey Mwakatundu were the players that Dodoma Spurs depended on the most when it came to attacking and scoring.
The duo’s work ethic was enough to make the rest of the squad play with composure.
Baptist looked lively in the third and fourth quarters when the team pushed upfront whenever opportunities came their way and deployed their scorers effectively to keep Spurs under pressure.
Spurs’ veteran Yassin Musira chipped in with crucial support both defensively and offensively at the time and his experience helped the team gain an upper hand for the rest of the game.
Lemunge scored 13 points to finish as the top scorer for Spurs followed by Ashraf Collins with 12 points and Mwakatundu with nine.
Baptist’s scorers were Erick John who had 22 points, Dennis Semions with 12 points and Kayumba Maregesi with eight.
ABC, who are among the top contenders for the trophy, were expected to play Young Warriors of Morogoro later in the afternoon.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN