Tonight is do or die for Sommet Basketball Club.
Just a week ago, Sommet began their best-of-five semifinal series against the 10-time defending champions City Oilers with an 86-74 victory in game one. It was an impressive display from Sommet, who showed that they had a spring in their step.
However, game two ended in a defeat for Sommet 78-80. If that had seemed a blip, considering how close the game was, on Sunday, September 21, City Oilers prevailed 79-63 to take a 2-1 series lead. So, now, Sommet find themselves in a make-or-break situation.
If they do not win game four tonight, their season will come to an end, which begs the question: What has suddenly gone wrong? It is clear that Sommet were hit hard by the 16-point difference defeat in game three.
In fact, because of how painful it was, coach Albert Aciko decided to give his players a day off on Monday, September 22. Instead, they returned last night for practice, perhaps, after letting the aftereffects of the previous defeat sink in.
Aciko said: “We had to let the disappointment subside first before we could return to training. But overall, our two defeats are a result of not taking care of our roles as individuals. For example, in game one, as a team, we played good defence, putting a stop on Oilers’ major threats in Kurt Curry and Chad Bowie.”
In game one, Bowie and Curry bagged 13 and 19 points respectively. In game two, Bowie scored 25, while Curry had 19 points. In game three, they both registered 19 points. Based on the aforementioned, it is clear just how dominant the Oilers’ latest acquisitions have given them a good platform to win.
Yet, looking at the final scores in both game one and two, Sommet were able to match them in terms of scoring. So, is it really true that Sommet’s defeats in games two and three are simply down to failing to stop Curry and Bowie?
Maybe the issue is that Sommet have failed to be more ruthless on offence as they were in game one? It is clear that City Oilers coach Andrew Tendo, realized after game one that his team did not do well to stop guards Kasereka Tembo and Mark Ngobi on the quick breaks.
Ngobi, who came off the bench in game one, registered 17 points, making the total off the bench 21 points for Sommet. Game by game, City Oilers have foiled that threat, which has left Sommet in a situation of deep thought.
In addition, while another Sommet star player like Peter Cheng scored 18 points in game one, in games two and three, he recorded nine and 11 points respectively. The other one, Fataki Nyembo also started with 18 points, but managed 13 points in game two.
In game three, Nyembo rose up again with 19 points, which was impressive from the DR Congo international. But the fact that Sommet only managed eight points from its bench players throughout, compared to City Oilers’ 14, was a cause for worry.
In light of that, Aciko said, “We know that we need to adjust our approach. You see, we are playing against a team with so much experience, which puts them in a good position. Nevertheless, we are not giving up. We have to push the series to a decisive game five.”
For Aciko, that adjustment will probably come down to how his entire team performs. Off the bench, Sommet do not have a big scoring threat beyond Ngobi. Yet, once his quick breaks are cut out by City Oilers, his efficacy is limited.
Notably, the starting five got tired on Sunday because they were overburdened. Consequently, their clash tonight at the YMCA in Wandegeya will depend on how much in the head Sommet want to win.
jovi@observer.ug
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