(MEN) - NAIROBI CITY 68 VS JUBA 60:
QUARTERS - 19-13, 11-18, 16-16, 22-13
Comprising of Nairobi based South Sudanese nationals; the Juba outfit stormed the finals in their debut appearance at the 13th edition of the East Africa Inter-cities Basketball Championship against an experienced Nairobi City.
Juba proved there worth as they gave Nairobi City a run for their money in the finals proving they are a force to reckon with and definitely not to be ignored.
Juba made their intensions known from early in the preliminary rounds, and made it into the finals after a comfortable (60 – 80) victory over KUSA in the semi-finals.
Nairobi’s Ancette Wafula opened the scoring for the game after the tip off with his signature long range 3 point shooting as Juba replied with 2 point to get the game going in 3-2. Nairobi’s favor
Nairobi trio of Peter Kiganya, Ancette Wafula and Victor Odendo attacked the Juba backcourt as they opened up an early lead to end the quarter 19 – 13 in their favour.
Juba’s USIU duo of Simon Mayen and Arou Chan combined well with Elijah Panel (Laiser Hill) as they mounted a second quarter surge. However Desmond Owili ignited the crowd with a power slam dunk inside the Juba defense. Nairobi City then upped the tempo as they went into a high pressure defense that forced Juba into turnovers.
Arou unleashed had a sensational block on Kiganya that brought the large Sudanese crowd to its feet and sparked a fire in the boys from Juba. Arou’s efforts were complimented by Elijah who’s interplay with Arou saw Juba close in to within a basket. A further free throw and a tip-in basket in quick succession then gave Juba its first lead of the 22-21 much to the jubilation of fans.
Nairobi responded through Wafula, Yoni Wanambiro and Delano Franklin, who tied that game at 29 – 29 with 2.02 left in the second quarter. However Elijah, Makiadi and Arou was were upto the task as they combined well to outscore Nairobi 11-18 and lead by one point (31- 30).
The third quarter resumed with Nairobi charging to a 10-3 run through a trio attack of Kiganya, Ancette, and Delano as they pushed the score line to 41-33. Nairobi City applied more defensive pressure with Juba struggling t catch up. With 3:25 played the score was 37-43 Juba Coach Abel Nson called a time out to re-organize his troops.
On resumption, Mayen responded with a deep 3 pointer to cut the deficit to 3. The team traded baskets before the final seconds when teams tied 45 all, before Juba had the last word to take a slim 47-46.
MVP Simon Mayen opened the 4th quarter with another 3 point that saw Juba extend their lead to 50-46. The Warriors from Juba pulled out all the stops in the fourth as they could smell victory could be there’s.
Playing for pride and defending their title hosts Nairobi City were not to be outdone by the worthy debutants. The fourth quarter saw the experience of the champions come through as they capitalized on the turnovers by the Juba outfit. This included the game decider when, with Juba trailing by a basket and 12seconds to play, Victor Odendo came up with a defensive steal from an inbound play of an Arou Chan inbound pass.
Odendo raced away for a fast break layup that he converted and was also fouled in the process. He converted the ensuing free-throw to extend the lead by 5points.
A heartbroken Juba saw victory slip off away as Desmond Owili ended the game with a buzzer beating dunk to hand Nairobi their 9th Inter-cities title.
(WOMEN) - NAIROBI SELECT 51 NAIROBI COMBINED 46:
QUARTERS : 17-12, 14-11, 15-09, 05-14
In the women’s category, Nairobi Select overcame Nairobi Combined to lift the title.
The tournament recorded a low turnout in the women’s category with much expected teams like Kampala City, Mombasa, and Kigali having missing out.
Nevertheless, a very commendable mention went to Mogadishu women’s team, Bentiu who received an honorary award for their efforts to not only participate in but also develop basketball despite the over decade long war situation in their country.
Before their arrival for the games, a farewell party was organized for the team by the Prime Minister in the TFG (Transitional Federal Government) Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo and the Assistant Minister of Finance Sheikh Shuute. The Prime Minister expressed his pleasure with the girls participating in the competition while representing Mogadishu city and urged them to bring back the trophy. Bentiu is coached by Fatima Aweys Mudey.
Juba also received an honorary mention for their debut appearance in the Championship.
SIDE SHOWS
The side event of the day was the dunking contest, which saw the crowd brought to its feet by two finalists Evans Letting, also the tournament’s Most Defensive Player, and little know Nelson Mandela. Letting was the first to take the floor and bring the crowd to its feet with a power wind mill, but that was just enough to bring the crowd, which was the jury, to its feet.
Mandela, the youngster, had the best reserved for last when he jumped from the dotted arc over a kid sited on a chair on top of a table. Now, this did send the crowd leaping beyond its feet and this is what made the difference in the name: Mandela vs. Letting. See video and join the jury. The live jury crowned Mandela as the Eastern Africa Inter Cities Championship 2011 Slam-Dunk Champion.
:Third/Fourth Position:
(W) - Kusa 100 Mogadishu 24
(M) - Kusa 60 Dar 54:
Semi - Finals:
(W) - Nairobi Select 109 Mogadishu 18
(W) - Nairobi Combined 56 Kusa 43
(M) - Juba 80 Kusa 60
(M) - Nairobi 109 Dar 40
AWARDS
Team Awards
+Bentieu - Most Disciplined Team
Most Valuable Player
+(W) MVP Silalei Shani -
+(W) MVP 2-Caroline Achieng
+(M) MVP Ancette Wafula
+(M) MVP 2- Mayien Simon Man
Most Disciplined
+(W) Faith Owitch
+(M) Gilbert Batungi
TOP FOUR COACHES
+Thomas Smarts Olumbo-Nairobi Men
+Abel Nson –Juba
+Ben Oluoch-Nairobi Women
+Sylvia Kamau-Nairobi Women
DUNKING TROPHY
+Nelson Mandela
SHOOTING TROPHY
+(W) Linda Alando
+(M) Moses Msosi
SMART DUNK DECODER (Slam Dunk Winner)
+Nelson Mandela
The next edition of the Inter Cities Championship will be staged in Kampala Uganda in 2012.
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