KIU Titans stun Warriors to take 2-1 lead in playoffs

National Basketball League Playoffs

UCU 59 JKL 56 (UCU lead series 2-1)

KCCA 64 A1 57 (KCCA win series 3-0)

KIU 66 Warriors 61 (KIU lead series 2-1)

Another victory in their best-of-five playoffs semi-finals against the Pemba Warriors and the KIU Titans will be in their first ever NBL finals.

What's more, KIU have two chances to do it, starting with Sunday's Game 4 at Lugogo.

Brian Wathum's Titans took a 2-1 lead Friday night at Lugogo after outlasting the Mike Buzangu-less Warriors 66-61 in a turgid contest that underlined both sides' desperation to win.

Sunday's reunion should even be more intense as the Warriors fight to stave off elimination and the Titans chase surprise qualification to the NBL Finals.

The Titans have seemingly found a working formula against the Warriors and with the absence of Buzangu, whose whereabouts are the subject of endless theories at the moment, KIU appear to have the upper hand.

On Friday, KIU were inspired by Sudi Ulanga and Geoffrey Soro, who contributed 15 points apiece while Etienne Nthwali added 12 points.

Phillip Ameny led all scorers with 18 points for the Warriors while Cyrus Kiviri and Caesar Kizito nailed 11 points apiece for the two-time champions, who were the best team in the regular season but are now in real danger of flopping for the second year of the Jack Pemba era.

Without Buzangu's unstoppable driving game, which won them countless big contests all season, the Warriors must recalibrate their offensive game to get past the Titans and into their first Finals since 2012.

In the women's playoffs, the KCCA Leopards secured their place in women's NBL Finals for the seventh year in a row after completing the sweep of A1 Challenge in their semi-finals series following a 64-57 victory.

Meanwhile, defending women's champions UCU Lady Canons lead the JKL Lady Dolphins 2-1 in their semi-finals series after a 59-56 win on Friday. Game 4 is on Sunday.