Kampala
Results – Friday
Warriors 66-67 Falcons
UCU 70-62 KIU
Women
A-1 49-36 Stormers
Mike Buzangu left YMCA court, Wandegeya on Friday night on the brink of cult status as he made the match-winning basket in Mountain Dew Falcons 67-66 victory over Kyambogo Warriors.
The shooting guard, who had 17 points in the low-scoring contest, ran an individual post-to-post move with 20 seconds left on the clock to sink an easy lay-up as Warriors’ defence stood still.
Jude Ochen and Ronnie Kasewu opted to close down Buzangu’s teammate Karim Aine Nkusi hoping for the Rwandese pair to exchange passes but their insight proved futile as the repeat of last year’s best-of-five semifinal series became a game of chess.
The crowd stood up hoping for a response from the champions. Form the inbound, an 18-second transition ended up with Ochen missing as Warriors’ loss column rose to three. Kasewu had a team-high 18 points but fit-again centre Henry Malinga scored five of his 11 in the opening five minutes of the first quarter before fading as Falcons’ physical approach paid off with Richard Osano Omondi (23) and Kami Kabange (14) punishing Warriors.
Earlier, UCU Canons’ 100% record continued with a 70-62 win over KIU Titans while A-1 Challenge beat Magic Stormers 49-36 in the women’s division. A-1 who have beaten all teams this season including rivals KCC will face Lady Bucks on Friday in their last first round match.