Group D

Urunani 81-79 Namuwongo Blazers

The Road to the Basketball Africa League (BAL) East Division Group D clash between Uganda’s Namuwongo Blazers and Burundi’s Urunani lived up to its billing, delivering an entertaining contest that went down to the wire.

The game at Hoima City Arena had everything expected of two evenly matched sides, with Urunani eventually edging the Blazers 81-79 to secure a place in the East Division Elite 16 with a perfect 4-0 record.

Urunani initially silenced the home crowd by opening up a double-digit lead in the first quarter and the early stages of the second.

However, Namuwongo fought back late in the second quarter, reigniting the crowd’s hopes. Peter Obleng capped the comeback in dramatic fashion, sinking a go-ahead corner three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Blazers a 45-43 halftime lead.

Urunani regained control in the third quarter, building a five-point advantage heading into the final period. But the Blazers responded immediately, launching a 9-0 run to open the fourth quarter and swing the momentum back in their favour.

From there, Namuwongo sought to slow the pace, patiently working through their half-court sets on each possession, while Urunani looked to push the ball up the court and exploit opportunities in transition.

Urunani’s quick ball movement proved decisive. On two occasions, the Burundian side found Mahamane Coulibaly open beyond the arc at the 45-degree angle, and the versatile forward drained consecutive three-pointers that ultimately made the difference in a thrilling encounter.