15 June 2010

UGANDA : Power -76 Falcons- 74

The game plan was simply running at their opponents for the entire 40 minutes, enjoying the game along the way.

That is exactly what DMark Power did as they won 76-74 to end the six-game winning streak of the six-time champions Mountain Dew Falcons last Friday in the basketball league.
Falcons start to the season had got many convinced they were infallible but 2008 champions Power disproved that claim in cynical fashion, proving to the rest that Falcons are beatable after all.

They tore them apart bit per bit with their pace and full court press, forcing them to make unnecessary errors and collect a handful of personal fouls on their key players.
Falcons’ lethal weapon Mike Buzangu shot himself in the foot by amassing four personal fouls in the first half alone while skipper Karim Musi was neutralized by the pace of Power players; he had to watch most of the game from the bench.

With Power’s flawless attacks, Falcons didn’t stand a chance of setting any play or creating the post plays where they have been unstoppable.
Skipper Norman Blick, who made the last basket with three seconds on the clock, had a game high 19 points and while defence has been Power’s Achilles Heel all season, Robert Mubiru stepped up to dominate in the painted area and his 13 points were a godsend.
Falcons’ coach Michael Mureithi told The Observer: “my boys failed to play set plays and lost it by trying to play their (Power’s) game. But in all it was a good loss because it’s better to lose when you play badly than to lose when you play well.”

His confirmation that the team played badly leaves the writing on the wall for all the opponents to exploit.
Power was Falcons first major test in the season and they failed it. With Falcons yet to play UCU Canons and defending champions Warriors, which they meet on June 25, Mureithi has to go back to the drawing board if he is to maintain the status of his cosmopolitan team.
Brian Wathum, Power’s assistant coach says; “if you have been watching the way Falcons have been playing from the start, one could easily tell that they are a transiting team…they are not consistent and they change according to what the offense is playing. That is how we knew that we just had to run at them.”
So with Mureithi’s secret unlocked, Gad Eteu, the Warriors coach already has a starting point of cleansing his team from that embarrassing defeat to the Canons. But that can only happen if he takes a leaf from Power’s strategy. UGA

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