Power through to the NBL finals

Pepsi National Basketball League playoffs

Best-of-five semi-finals

Game 5: Power 75 KIU 72

{Power win series 3-2}

There's a thin line between greatness and humiliation and at the end of the Pepsi National Basketball League semi-final series between Power and the KIU Titans, there was no doubt who stood where.

A series that was supposed to end with KIU setting up a mouth-watering finals date against the City Oilers ended with a shock of Donald Trump proportions as Power claimed a gripping series decider 75-72 Friday at the YMCA, winning 3-2.

Power, understaffed and underrated all season long,-were going to the finals. KIU, winner of a league-record 22 straight games this year, were going home, tail firmly between lower limbs.

Power, like they had done in all their three wins in this series, found someone to compliment the output of Joseph Ikong and Michael Makiadi. Paul Odong was that man, exploding for a game-high 20 points for his best performance of the series.

Makiadi had 11 points and 18 rebounds as he recovered from his ill-mannered Game 4 display while Ikong had 18 points and controlled the game with the kind of leadership that was conspicuously absent for KIU.

The Titans were led by Chris Basheke, Ivan Lumanyika, Etienne Ntwali with 19, 15, 13 and 10 points respectively but Hamza Nyambogo's team were on the backfoot from the get-go. They trailed by five at the end of the first quarter, 14 at halftime, 10 at the end of the third. With 2:30 to play in the fourth frame, KIU were down 71-61 but cut it to 72-67 with 46 seconds left.

Power's solid free-throw shooting would, however, push them across the finish line and into a finals appearance that no one saw coming.

"They said they would sweep us and that motivated us,"" explained Power skipper Ikong post-match.

"We will not be swept in the finals," he added.