Author: MBONILE BURTON
AfricaPress-Tanzania: ABC team marksman Enrico Agustino was on target again after knocking 22 points that helped his team to beat Savio and regain the Regional Basketball League (RBA) helm during the weekend shootout in Dar es Salaam.
It was a busy shootout at Kurasini Harbours court in the city as the victory heightened ABC to the top of the league with 17 points from nine matches they have played so far.
It was not an easy win against Savio in the closely-fought encounter that saw ABC securing a slim 58-54 victory at the end.
ABC laboured to overpower hard-fighting Savio in the exciting match that also saw JKT who leapfrogged leaders on Saturday, drop to second position with 16 points from 8 matches.
Kurasini Heat who clobbered Police 77-39 are now third-placed with 15 points.
Also played a big role in ABC victory were Filbert Mwaipungu who netted 13 points and Isdory Mkwama who added nine to help their team enjoy a return to the top spot.
Agustino’s 22 points also made him stamp authority at the top scorers table as he now paraded 251 total points and leaves far his closest challenger, Jonas Mushi of Vijana City Bulls who has netted 194 at the second place. Third in the marksmanship race is JKT ace Baraka Sadiki who has poured in 161 points.
ABC started the game brightly, commanding the first quarter with a 20-17 lead and went on to lead 36-27 at the breather.
The third quarter was challenging to winners as they let Savio get away with a 10-16 lead before killing the game with 12-10 lead at the end of the last quarter.
Savio’s top scorers were Jaos Maheta, who fired home 18 points, George Tarimo who added 13 points more and Joseph Kamisa who managed to score 7 points.
The defeat leaves Savio at the 5th position with 14 points after playing 9 matches, they are now battling for a top-four finish.
In another weekend battle, Oilers beat Chui 82-56 at the same venue.
Oilers Coach William Kinje was all but smile as he said before that they would not let any opponent to get away from them.
He said that they had expected to post the big win banking on good combination of experienced and young blood who can read well their opponents’ weaknesses.
Herve Mbaya emerged Oilers top scorer after posting 20 points and Evance Davis who carved 16 points made Oilers look superior to their opponents.
Oilers began with a 22-10 lead in the first quarter before recording a 18-7 lead at the end of the second quarter. They sealed 17-19 and 25-20 leads in the third and fourth quarters respectively.
David Machanya scored 16 points and had 10 rebounds while Abdu Changwenge had 17 points and Saidi Juma 10 points for the Chui.
Also in the winning record over weekend included Mabibo Bullet who beat DB Youngstars 50-46, and Ukonga Kings who handed DTB a 71-50 loss at the same venue.
