Only two KBA League playoff final places remain

Only two places remain to be filled in the three Khomas Basketball Association (KBA) League playoff finals scheduled for Saturday at Unam Gym Hall, with the Premier League and Division One series still hanging in the balance.

Unam Wolves take a 3-1 lead into game five of their best-of-seven Premier League series against Unam Rebels today, while Unam Wolves II hold a 2-1 advantage over Team Allies heading into game four of their best-of-five Division One series.

A victory for either Wolves side would punch their ticket to the championship series. Rebels and Allies, meanwhile, have no margin for error and must win to extend their respective series to Friday. 

The Wolves-Rebels game five, which could not be contested on Sunday evening, and the Wolves II-Allies encounter are both set for Unam Gym Hall today, with the starting times yet to be determined at the time of going to print yesterday. 

Wolves rediscover transition game 

Wolves have responded strongly since Rebels levelled their Premier League series at one-all, following their opening 69-61 victory with a 54-64 defeat earlier this month. 

Rebels’ game-two victory had come by taking away two of Wolves’ biggest weapons from the opener. Wolves, who had scored 50 points in the paint and 27 on the fast break in game one, were restricted to 22 paint points and just six in transition. 

Wolves have since found their running game again, beating Rebels 87-75 and 78-67 to move within one victory of the final. 

They generated 17 fast-break points in game three and another 19 in game four. Across the four encounters, Wolves have outscored Rebels 69-31 on the fast break, despite the two sides being almost inseparable in the paint at 152-150. 

Sunday’s game four saw Wolves lead 38-27 at half-time, only for Rebels to fight back and take a 55-53 advantage after outscoring them 28-15 in the third period. Wolves answered with a 25-12 fourth quarter to restore control and move 3-1 ahead.

Rebels’ only victory showed they can trouble Wolves when they slow the tempo and limit their transition opportunities, but they must match that resilience again today if they are to prolong the series and force game six on Friday. 

QBC await series winner 

The winner of the series will meet defending champions Quality Basketball Club (QBC), who booked their Premier League final place on Sunday after completing a 4-0 routing of Nust Gladiators with wins of 91-69, 66-51, 76-61 and 80-58. 

Gladiators never got closer than 15 points in any of the four encounters, while QBC held them below 70 points throughout the series.

QBC’s depth saw their bench contribute 121 points across the four matches compared with Gladiators’ 45, including advantages of 35-6 in game two, 27-20 in game three and 24-10 in Sunday’s closeout victory.

QBC also held a 194-158 advantage in points in the paint across the series, which allowed them to win in different ways even when their perimeter shooting was not falling. 

Wolves II overturn opening rout

The Division One battle between Wolves II and Allies has taken an unconventional path.

Allies appeared to have laid down a marker when they opened the series with a commanding 95-67 victory, built on 52% three-point shooting and a 36-8 advantage in points from turnovers. 

Wolves II have since flipped the series with successive 63-61 and 63-58 wins to move 2-1 ahead. 

Allies’ only consolation is that they have outscored Wolves II 214-193 across the three games, but playoff series are decided by victories rather than aggregate points.

The biggest change has come closer to the basket.

Wolves II outscored Allies 34-28 in the paint and 20-15 on second-chance points when they won game two. They stretched those advantages to 46-30 and 19-6 respectively in Sunday’s game-three victory.

Wolves II’s work inside has helped compensate for continued struggles from deep, while Allies have not rediscovered the perimeter efficiency that drove their opening victory.

Allies made 13 of 25 three-pointers in game one, but that hot shooting has cooled since. They converted just five of 23 attempts from beyond the arc in game two and six of 32 on Sunday.

Wolves II have an opportunity to close the series today by continuing to control the interior and create second opportunities, while Allies need to regain enough offensive efficiency to keep the series alive.

The winner will face Unam Cadets in the Division One playoff final starting on Saturday at Unam Gym Hall. 

Cadets complete clean sweep

Cadets booked their place by routing Nust Reapers 3-0 with victories of 74-56, 64-53 and 52-45.

Although the margins narrowed as the best-of-five series progressed, Reapers could not find the breakthrough they needed.

Cadets consistently found value from their depth and from Reapers’ mistakes, finishing the series with an 82-59 advantage in points from turnovers and 92-56 in bench scoring.

Their bench was influential in game two, contributing 39 points to Reapers’ 15, before producing another 25-9 advantage in Sunday’s closeout.

Reapers managed to reduce the final margin to seven points in game three, but their 45-point return was their lowest of the series and left them without enough offence to prevent Cadets from completing the sweep. 

Phoenix cruise into final

The Women’s Premier League playoff final is already set, with defending four-time champions Unam Phoenix to meet Ongos Shooting Stars on Saturday.

Phoenix made light work of Basketball Artists School (BAS) Falcons in their best-of-seven series, completing a 4-0 sweep by storming to victories of 80-31, 71-53, 77-44 and 75-32.

They outscored Falcons 303-160 across the four encounters, with their 18-point victory in game two the closest Falcons came throughout the series.

Phoenix won three of the four games by at least 33 points, including closing the door with a 43-point victory to become one of the first teams to secure their place in Saturday’s finals. 

Ongos bounce back to advance

Ongos had to travel a less straightforward route against Nust Dodgers, winning the opener 67-42 before falling 50-49 as Dodgers levelled the series.

What followed were two of the tightest encounters of the playoffs, with Shooting Stars responding with a 56-55 win before completely breaking the contest open in game four, when they stormed to a 76-24 victory.

The encounter saw them score 39 points from turnovers to nine and dominate the paint 56-16. Ongos also put together a 29-point scoring run as a series that had produced consecutive one-point finishes suddenly swung heavily in their favour.

They then closed the series 4-1 with Sunday’s 50-43 victory.

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