Jammers upset 2001 form book

Jan 09, 2002

THE year 2001 saw Ugandan basketball turned on its head. The form- book was completely disrespected as pre-season underdogs Sky Jammers of Jinja stole the show.

By Douglas Mazune THE year 2001 saw Ugandan basketball turned on its head. The form- book was completely disrespected as pre-season underdogs Sky Jammers of Jinja stole the show.Traditional giants Sadolin Power and Falcons with three championships between them in as many years will want to forget this season quickly. Sky Jammers, the surprise team in the playoffs, first stunned the basketball fraternity by ejecting Falcons in the semi-finals before convincingly whipping defending champions Power 3-1 to become the first upcountry team to win the league title. Despite regrouping on the eve of game three, the Jinja youngsters took it (game three) and went on to seal victory in the fourth—two days later.Power eliminated Charging Rhino 2-1 to advance to the final.Jammers, thrust from the bottom of FUBA classic league table last year to squeeze into the playoffs — shutting Blue Jackets out.The Jinja youngsters led by reigning MVP Norman ‘Magic’ Blick and top scorer Godwin Khisa, showed they were serious contenders when they upset Power in the opening game of the season at YMCA Wandegeya.The league was more competitive than ever before with teams like Miracle, Warriors, giving giants a hard time.Unfortunately upcoming teams like Flamers, Kakira and Jude Etyang’s Kololo Bush court did not complete the league.In the women league as usual it was a two-horse race between defending champions Lady Bucks and A-1 Challenge.A-1 Challenge dominated for the better part of the season and proved good enough to stop Lady Bucks five-year dominance only to surrender to title to the champions on last day of the league.With the best-of-five final playoff series tied on 2-2, A-1 refused to play the decider claiming referees were biased.

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