How JKT won top honour in NBL

Dar es Salaam. JKT coach Alfred Ngalalija has hailed the army team’s discipline, astute defence and attack that saw them emerge the 2019 Mainland basketball champions.

They beat their archrivals Savio 62-51 in the National Basketball League (NBL) classic final on Saturday night to successfully retain their title.

“It is almost three years now we’re up there, and this is largely due discipline,” Ngalalija said after the match at the National Indoor Stadium.

“Not only a militarily self-enforced discipline, but also a discipline of the game and hard work among my players, not to mention good leadership,” he added.

Team captain Frank Kusiga concurred with his coach, saying the hard work they put in had paid off.

“We’re very happy to retain the title. We have worked hard to get where we are,” the elated Kusiga said.

He added: “Today’s achievement is down to good coaching, discipline among the players and on top of that good leadership.”

The action-packed final brought together the best basketball teams in the country, making it extremely hard to predict which side would carry the day.

JKT were good at both defending and attacking such that they looked more dangerous when marching towards their rivals’ territory.

After a tight battle early in the first quarter, JKT took an 18-6 lead.

In the second quarter, Savio, who booked a place in the final at the expense of Pazi,   were a more aggressive side.

They briefly took command of the game and, at one, looked set to wrestle the NBL title from the army outfit.

They took a 24-13 second quarter lead to the delight of their fans at the venue.

In the third quarter, JKT, seeking to regain their lead as well as instill hope to their cheerful fans, whose morale inside the venue was vibrant, took the game to their opponents.

Commanding the proceedings with swift but accurate passes, they took a 17-12 third quarter lead.

Baraka Sadiki scored 18 points to steer JKT to the win as teammates Haji Mbegu and Charles Makene had 12 and 10 respectively.

Mbegu also led in rebound catch after doing it ten times and blocking two times.

He also provided scoring passes to teammates nine times and made five turn overs.

Cornelius Mgaza was a notable player for Savio. He netted 14 points.

The venue exploded into applauses after the end-to-end game ended in favour of JKT.