NAIROBI (Kenya) - The Johannesburg Giants left nothing to chance as they took to the floor of the Kasarani Indoor Gymnasium for a 92-71 opening win over Uganda's Namuwongo Blazers. This was the Blazers' second loss, meaning they exited the competition without a win.
Experienced player Nkosinathi Sandile Sibanyoni led the South Africans on both ends of the court, scoring a team-high 16 points, pulling down 18 boards, and making two steals — the only double-double in the match.
Lehlogonolo Charles Tholo and Dhieu Abwok Deing added 15 points each; the latter came seven rebounds short of a double-double. Pieter Prinsloo and Joshua Ozabor contributed 14 and 13 points respectively to the win.
The Giants dominated the paint, finishing 52–34 ahead. They also dominated in fast breaks, with a contribution of 34–11, and in second chance points, with 20–10, to secure the convincing victory.
The Blazers went 8-2 ahead in the opening two minutes, but the South Africans quickly tied the game at 8.
Another run for the Ugandans took them 15-8 ahead. However, Prinsloo then started a 16-0 run, leaving the Blazers trailing 24-15 after the opening 10 minutes.
The Blazers got off to a quick start in the opening minute of the second period to make it 24-19, but the Giants responded with Lehlogonolo Charles Tholo shooting from range to extend their lead to 10 points (29-19). Joel Lukoji Banza and Peter Obleng kept Daniel Juuko's side in the game with shots from range to make it 33–25.
However, the Giants dominated the final three minutes of the quarter, scoring eight unanswered points to establish a 46-32 lead.
Despite trailing 52-35 early in the second half, Sidy Mohamed Djitte initiated the Blazers' comeback, scoring five points to reduce the deficit to eight at 58-50. This gap remained at the end of the quarter (64-56).
A 28-15 final stanza assured the Giants of a comfortable win as they head into their final group match against the home side, Nairobi City Thunder.
'It was a good game for us, despite the tough opening half, which was to be expected as it was our first match of the competition. We recovered in the second half with better rebounding and took better care of the ball for this win. As we head to the next match, we know that the Thunder are a strong team, but we are ready to take them on. We have a strong squad that can compete with them," said Giants' forward Sandile Sibanyoni.
FIBA