By Johnson Akilis • Published July 13, 2024, at 1:00 pm
The J’s star opened up about his playoff mindset in an exclusive conversation with our SB4 Stewart.
Duncan Ian Lubwama sat down with our SB4 to discuss the Black Jaguars’ mindset heading into game 1 against the Titans today at 6:00 pm at the YMCA courts.
The road to the championship is about to get a whole lot tougher for the 2023-24 Black Jaguars. The J’s cruised through the regular season with a league-high 10 wins in 22 games played. Yes, the losses overpower the wins, so it all comes down to what lessons you pick from those losses. We are talking about a team that has just made it to the NBL for the first time and straight to the playoffs with a roster of young, vibrant, talented lads schooling old big boys left, right, and center. They enter the NBA playoffs as the clear favorites to win it all, but Duncan Ian Lubwama is well aware it won’t be a cakewalk.
The 3×3 national team pick has helped the Black Jaguars right from Division 2 to here and currently poses as one of the best point guards in the league. The Black Jaguars now come to conquer the NBL looking for the championship as they have always aimed for in the past 2 years in lower leagues.
Duncan knows all too well how teams up their intensity come playoff time. In an exclusive 1-on-1 with SB4, he made it clear he’ll be ready to match it.
“The only thing unique about playoffs is the winner advances and the loser goes home, but it is still a ball game that starts with both teams having 0 points,” Duncan told SB4. “We must dig deeper and focus more on the game; there is absolutely no time for regrets. We must follow our game plan consistently and make all efforts toward one goal: to win our ball game.”
Energy kwa energy, “The playoffs are another level in that you have to unleash whatever is inside of you to go to that next level because it’s gonna get much more physical. It’s gonna be a battle, a war, and we must bring game 1 home.” said Mark Were
Truth be told, the Black Jaguars had the worst endings we’d ever seen with 5 straight back-to-back losses, which checks their level of consistency in the NBL. Duncan acknowledged this, saying, “Consistency is very key. Doing what we have planned is our main focus.”
The team will need to beef up their defense against the Titans, but it’s well known that the best defense is a stronger offense.
Duncan is coming off a strong season in which he averaged 8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game while shooting a career-best 39.9 percent from the field. He has excelled as a point guard and could even flirt with NBA All-Assist consideration for the first time in his career.
Our very own SB4 couldn’t get a hold of George Agasi, the 🐐, as he must have been getting ready for the encounter.
Game 1 of the Black Jaguars’ first-round series is set for Saturday at 6 p.m. against the KIU Titans. Be sure to catch us for post-game analysis and insights. Let’s go mine some Gold 🥇🏀🐆