Iringa, Mbeya down Dodoma teams

Dodoma. Iringa claimed a hard-fought 80-75 victory over hosts Dodoma in the men’s category of the ongoing National Basketball Championship (Taifa Cup) at Jamhuri Stadium.

Johnson Chacha and Joel Mwaipopo scored 18 points apiece as Nelo Loven notched 14 points to inspire the Iringa boys to a wafer-thin victory. Chacha was a player that Dodoma found difficult to mark throughout the four quarters and the experienced guard used his agility to punish the hosts.

Iringa started off brightly with Chacha orchestrating most of the attacks, but at the end of the first quarter, they took a narrow lead of 18-17.

The next two quarters saw Iringa opt for all out attacks, but the Dodoma boys thwarted most of the moves.

Iringa recorded a 20-19 win in the third quarter and maintained their lead to the final whistle. A handful of fans who attended the match were treated to a fast paced game in the last quarter in which Dodoma desperately attempted to reverse the score. Speaking after the match, Chacha said they were happy with the win and promised that they will keep the form going and ultimately clinch the Taifa Cup trophy.

“It was a closely fought game, but we are happy that we took the two points at stake. We have a good team and we will fight to win the trophy,” he said. In another game, Mbeya’s women team registered a slim win over Dodoma at the same courts. They won 37-36. On Tuesday, Dar es Salaam, one of the most feared teams in the tournament, thumped Iringa 93-40 in a game played at Vijana courts.

The Dream Team controlled the game right from the start and went on to win all four quarters of the game, leaving the Southern highlands frustrated. The winner finished the first quarter with a 21-8 point lead and maintained the run to 24-12 points in the second quarter. The Dream Team continued to dominate in the third quarter by 26 -12 points. The fourth quarter was the worst for Iringa, as the winners punished them further with a 22-8 point victory.