UCU Lady Canons delivered a masterclass performance on Friday, securing a commanding 71-48 victory over the JKL Lady Dolphins in a highly anticipated National Basketball League (NBL) encounter at the Lugogo Indoor Arena.

With the emphatic win, the Lady Canons completed a regular-season double against the defending champions, who are currently chasing their fourth consecutive NBL title.

Despite the setback, the Lady Dolphins enter their final regular-season game still holding onto an impressive overall record, having come into Friday’s matchup on the back of a strong winning streak.

The Lady Canons set the tone early in the match, suffocating their opponents defensively while executing flawlessly on offence.

Sylivia Nakituuka capped off a dominant opening quarter with a brilliant three-point jump shot, giving the Lady Canons a commanding 17-point lead at 24-07.

Things only worsened for the defending champions in the second period. The Lady Canons’ relentless defence restricted the Lady Dolphins to just seven points in the quarter, allowing UCU to head into the long halftime break with a massive 29-point cushion.

The Lady Dolphins managed to find some footing after halftime, matching the Lady Canons 17-17 in a competitive third quarter. However, the damage had already been done, and UCU maintained their comfortable 29-point advantage heading into the final frame.

In the fourth quarter, the Lady Dolphins mounted a spirited late rally to outscore UCU, but the deficit proved far too large to overcome, with the game concluding in a 23-point margin of victory for the Canons.

Sylivia Nakituuka led the charge for the Lady Canons with a game-high 19 points, supported by Sylivia Nantongo, who chipped in 12 points.

The Lady Dolphins’ offence was spearheaded by Tamasha Nsubuga with 16 points and Charity Nantalo with 11 points, alongside contributions from Shadia Nassanga.

The post UCU Lady Canons stun JKL Lady Dolphins with dominant victory appeared first on Kawowo Sports.

JKL Lady Dolphins secure a well-deserved 68-57 victory against Nabisunsa Girls in the National Basketball League encounter at YMCA Court on Wednesday.

The Lady Dolphins came into the game seeking a must-win as they take on relegated Nabisunsa Girls.

Ekone Brenda’s 3-point jumpshot concluded the opening period as the Lady Dolphins opened a two-point lead (14-12).

In the second quarter, Nabisunsa were limited to only eight points as the Lady Dolphins took a 13-point lead (33-20) into the long break.

Coming from the long break, the third quarter was tied 16-16, and the Lady Dolphins held onto a 13-point lead going into the final frame.

Nabisunsa Girls tried to return to the game late but their fight was late as they trailed to 11 points on the end of the day.

Tamasha Nsubuga (24 points), Shadia Nasanga (13 points) and Ekone Brenda’s (11 points) led the Dolphins’ scoring chart in double digits.

On the other hand, Keturah Joy Auma (22 points) and Martha Yikuru (12 points and 12 rebounds) reached the double digits for Nabisunsa..

The post JKL Lady Dolphins hold off Nabisunsa Girls in vital victory appeared first on Kawowo Sports.

For the third time in the last five seasons, a pair of Ginebra stars swept the top individual honors of a conference after RJ Abarrientos and Justin Brownlee were hailed as the best performers of the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup.

The former Asian import earned his first Best Player of the Conference title, while the naturalized winger earned his fourth Best Import plum as the Kings were crowned before Game 4 of the Finals at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.

It was a coronation waiting to happen especially for the 26-year-old, who became the clear-cut winner after a remarkable semis against Rain or Shine.

There, he averaged 22.0 points on 49.7-percent shooting from the field, 3.67 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.5 steals, as he proved to be the difference that ultimately helped the traditional contenders finish it off in six.

Abarrientos scored 30-plus in the last two games to send the Elasto Painters packing, first a 31-point showing in Game 5 to star in their 111-104 victory before dropping 30 in their 118-107 clincher to formally enter the Finals.

By semis’ end, the former KBL and B.League campaigner stayed at third in the statistical points race with 37.2 to his name, sitting behind early favorite Robert Bolick and June Mar Fajardo whose cases took a hit after quarters exits.

Aside from the nine-time MVP and the NLEX star, Abarrientos beat Ricci Rivero of Phoenix and Terrafirma guard Jerrick Ahanmisi for the coveted title.

With this, he now has a BPC award just like his uncle Johnny, although he won it faster. The Gilas Pilipinas playmaker got his in only his sophomore season in the league–the ‘Flying A’ didn’t win his first of two until his fourth season.

Brownlee, on the other hand, has become the oldest to win Best Import at 38, and has climbed at solo second for most after the late, great Bobby Parks, Sr. who has seven–the reason why the award was named after him.

Currently tied with current FEU head coach Sean Chambers for having the most number of league championships with six, ‘JB’ got the nod after a solid semis run as well, in which he bested a solid candidate in Jaylen Johnson.

Johnson had himself a good case as well not just because of his numbers but for playing a crucial role in RoS’ impressive start–he even strengthened as much after dropping 40 points and 19 rebounds in their Game 1 win.

However, the former teammate of Kevin Quiambao in the KBL struggled to stay consistent. He was never able to replicate that outing since, while Brownlee went on to deliver big performances to help lead Ginebra back to the Finals.

Brownlee beat not just Johnson but also Tropang 5G import Chris McCullough and Patrick Gardner of Meralco for the plaque–the other two became the eligible candidates after Bol Bol and Marvin Jones got disqualified.

Bol, for one, fell down with an Achilles injury that prompted the defending champs to make the switch, while Jones got sacked by the Bolts after underdelivering in Game 3 where TNT played with an all-Filipino lineup.

Brownlee finished the semis as the SPs race leader among reinforcements with 50.5, boosted by his production in the semis in which he posted per-game norms of 29.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.67 steals, and 1.3 blocks.

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