{"id":72159,"date":"2024-04-27T17:06:52","date_gmt":"2024-04-27T17:06:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/?p=72159"},"modified":"2024-04-27T17:02:18","modified_gmt":"2024-04-27T17:02:18","slug":"what-game-one-told-us-about-semifinalists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/what-game-one-told-us-about-semifinalists","title":{"rendered":"What Game One told us about semifinalists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. <\/strong><\/span>The opening games of the men\u2019s National Volleyball League semi-finals largely went as unexpected at Old Kampala Arena last weekend.<\/b><\/p>\n

After a 3-2 win over Sport-S in their second meeting of regular season, many believed that Uganda Christian University (UCU) had a bit more to show in the playoffs but they were swept 3-0 last Sunday and were left with a lot of soul searching to do ahead of Game Two today.<\/p>\n

In the other match-up between KAVC and Nemostars, the latter were seen as outright favourites but the former came from a set down twice to win 3-2 and set up what should be an edge of the seat second meeting tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Here is what we learnt from all four sides last weekend.<\/p>\n

Sport-S technical experience<\/b><\/p>\n

Sport-S could afford to put their captain Dickens Otim on only for the last minutes of their final set but the experience in their side reeks right from their technical bench.<\/p>\n

Their coach Benon Mugisha and his assistant Albert Gayi have seen it all \u2013 the former even within the region \u2013 and they were supported by Warren Muhangi and Yusuf Mukiibi.<\/p>\n

UCU\u2019s coach Elias Isiagi has been at it for about three years but even during this regular season, his services were still required on court too.<\/p>\n

If Sport-S make it to the final, the coaches on the other side; Memory Dube for KAVC and Tom Amou for Nemostars have to deal with the same muscle memory from the Nsambya-based club\u2019s bench.<\/p>\n

Sport-S block<\/b><\/p>\n

With Dannie Gum and Johnson Rukundo as the main guys, Sport-S dominated the net in Game One yet for large parts of the season, they relied on Samuel Engwau and Emmanuel Okia in that area. The options are therefore enormous.<\/p>\n

UCU talent<\/b><\/p>\n

While Sport-S dominated the net, UCU could still rely on the talent of Duke Philip Kyomukama and Hussein Adome to wreak havoc. In fact at some point, they looked like they had rediscovered themselves when they pushed from 7-2 down to 14-14 in the first set. After that they also started well in the second set leading it until they faded away at 11-10.<\/p>\n

The talent to harm Sport-S is definitely there but one wonders if the Mukono-based side just has enough fuel in their tank to avoid being swept.<\/p>\n

Onapa willing to take risks<\/b><\/p>\n

Geoffrey Onapa only knows about one thing; attacking the opponent. It is what he is good at and does not care if he is receiving the second or third ball from his KAVC teammates, he is ripping it right through the opponents.<\/p>\n

Nemostars struggled dealing with him because he matches their boldness. His coach Dube, has even termed his style as \u201creckless\u201d but from a good place.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a fine margin game and Onapa has been strong on the outside. We have to learn to play reckless and not be so cautious,\u201d Dube said.<\/p>\n

Innocent Ayo complimented Dube too and the duo will need to be at their very best to get anything off Nemo when they meet again tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Nemo explosive, not invincible<\/b><\/p>\n

Nemo have almost trusted the same core of players for so long that if one of them has an off-day, then the wheels start to wobble. Perhaps, that is why they have not won the last two league titles.<\/p>\n

KAVC\u2019s fighting spirit seemed to make Nemo\u2019s captain George Aporu and setter Smith Okumu uncomfortable in bits and that helped take the game down the wire.<\/p>\n

But the absence of Bernard \u2018Redman\u2019 Malinga was also key for KAVC to find ways through Nemo\u2019s middle block.<\/p>\n

Coach Amou called bits of Aporu and Ivan Ongom play \u201cunacceptable\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cExperienced players cannot hit the balls outside like that,\u201d Amou said, clearly rattled.<\/p>\n

KAVC still have their work cut out but they will probably need to play on their opponents\u2019 emotions too.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will show that we want it more. It is hard to play a team that has the advantage,\u201d coach Dube said, showing she understands the assignment.<\/p>\n

Only that Nemo never die!<\/p>\n

National Volleyball League <\/b>
\nMen’s semifinals <\/b>
\nSaturday:<\/b> UCU vs. Sport-S, 4pm<\/p>\n

Sunday:<\/b> KAVC vs. Nemo, 4pm<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Uganda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. The opening games of the men\u2019s National Volleyball League semi-finals largely went as unexpected at Old Kampala Arena last weekend. After a 3-2 win over Sport-S in their second meeting of regular season, many believed that Uganda Christian University (UCU) had a bit more to show in the playoffs but they were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":72158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-72159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Game One told us about semifinalists - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The opening games of the men\u2019s National Volleyball League semi-finals largely went as unexpected at Old Kampala Arena ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/what-game-one-told-us-about-semifinalists\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Game One told us about semifinalists\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The opening games of the men\u2019s National Volleyball League semi-finals largely went as unexpected at Old Kampala Arena ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/what-game-one-told-us-about-semifinalists\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-27T17:06:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2024\/04\/sm_1714224626.184533.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/what-game-one-told-us-about-semifinalists#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/what-game-one-told-us-about-semifinalists\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"What Game One told us about semifinalists\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-27T17:06:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/what-game-one-told-us-about-semifinalists\"},\"wordCount\":712,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/what-game-one-told-us-about-semifinalists#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2024\/04\/sm_1714224626.184533.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/what-game-one-told-us-about-semifinalists#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/what-game-one-told-us-about-semifinalists\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/what-game-one-told-us-about-semifinalists\",\"name\":\"What Game One told us about semifinalists - 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