14 October 2010
UGANDA : Despite failure, Miracle’s future looks rosy
Written by John Vianney Nsimbe http://www.observer.ug
When Miracle lost 73-79 to Kyambogo Warriors two Sundays ago, it was hard not to notice Edwin Kateregga and Douglas Uwizera weeping.
The tears showed how bitter a pill it was for Miracle to swallow by losing the final playoff spot to the men’s defending champions.
Miracle signaled their intent of dining on the same table with the big boys when they snapped up the marquee player, Stephen Omony in the second round. A former professional player in Seychelles and multiple play-off participant (and winner) with Falcons, Omony was expected to breathe new life into Miracle’s play-off bid.
He certainly did, leading the side to numerous victories. Two Sundays ago, though, his 20 points weren’t enough to keep Miracle’s play-off hopes afloat. Omony was philosophical in the face of failure. “I expect us to learn from this sad moment and build on it for next season.”
Brian Rugyendo, Miracle’s coach, told The Observer that much as they didn’t deserve to lose, seeing his players cry confirmed that the team has turned the corner. Such passion should stand Miracle in good stead next season.
And who wouldn’t want to see Miracle rubbing shoulders with the perennial big teams like DMark Power, Warriors, Falcons and UCU Canons? That shouldn’t be far off. Evidently, Miracle gave as good as they got against Warriors.
Such successes could be primarily attributed to the squad they’ve assembled since the beginning of the 2009 season.
With his powers waning today, Henry Malinga, who plays with his knee strapped, is a bench player at Warriors. He would nevertheless be Brian Sentongo’s understudy today. Sentongo has done an almighty job for Miracle in the paint.
The power forward has also mastered the jump-shot, which was Eric Malinga’s (Henry’s brother) forte at Falcons. Sentongo understudied the Malinga brothers while at Falcons.
While the Malinga brothers’ move away from Falcons has seen them fall on lean times, Sentongo has visibly benefitted from leaving Falcons as he has gotten substantial playing time.
Elsewhere, the tears notwithstanding, Kateregga, a centre, also used to sit on the Falcons bench. He is now the ultimate fox in the box who pounces on any loose balls and picks rebounds like a thief, unnoticed, just as Henry used to do.
In Francis Kasekende, Miracle has a good shooting guard on the three-point line. Miracle aren’t doing badly in the point-guard department as Hannington Yahaya, Albert Aciko and Colin Mukiza point the ball quite well.
In hindsight, if Miracle hadn’t lost Robert Mubiru, Paul Mwaka, Boniface Okello, Felix Olaba, Godwin Khisa and the high-scoring Donald Ssali before this season began, they would certainly be up there. In this respect, Miracle must guard against losing anymore players if they are to turn this season’s tears to next season’s joy.
When Miracle lost 73-79 to Kyambogo Warriors two Sundays ago, it was hard not to notice Edwin Kateregga and Douglas Uwizera weeping.
The tears showed how bitter a pill it was for Miracle to swallow by losing the final playoff spot to the men’s defending champions.
Miracle signaled their intent of dining on the same table with the big boys when they snapped up the marquee player, Stephen Omony in the second round. A former professional player in Seychelles and multiple play-off participant (and winner) with Falcons, Omony was expected to breathe new life into Miracle’s play-off bid.
He certainly did, leading the side to numerous victories. Two Sundays ago, though, his 20 points weren’t enough to keep Miracle’s play-off hopes afloat. Omony was philosophical in the face of failure. “I expect us to learn from this sad moment and build on it for next season.”
Brian Rugyendo, Miracle’s coach, told The Observer that much as they didn’t deserve to lose, seeing his players cry confirmed that the team has turned the corner. Such passion should stand Miracle in good stead next season.
And who wouldn’t want to see Miracle rubbing shoulders with the perennial big teams like DMark Power, Warriors, Falcons and UCU Canons? That shouldn’t be far off. Evidently, Miracle gave as good as they got against Warriors.
Such successes could be primarily attributed to the squad they’ve assembled since the beginning of the 2009 season.
With his powers waning today, Henry Malinga, who plays with his knee strapped, is a bench player at Warriors. He would nevertheless be Brian Sentongo’s understudy today. Sentongo has done an almighty job for Miracle in the paint.
The power forward has also mastered the jump-shot, which was Eric Malinga’s (Henry’s brother) forte at Falcons. Sentongo understudied the Malinga brothers while at Falcons.
While the Malinga brothers’ move away from Falcons has seen them fall on lean times, Sentongo has visibly benefitted from leaving Falcons as he has gotten substantial playing time.
Elsewhere, the tears notwithstanding, Kateregga, a centre, also used to sit on the Falcons bench. He is now the ultimate fox in the box who pounces on any loose balls and picks rebounds like a thief, unnoticed, just as Henry used to do.
In Francis Kasekende, Miracle has a good shooting guard on the three-point line. Miracle aren’t doing badly in the point-guard department as Hannington Yahaya, Albert Aciko and Colin Mukiza point the ball quite well.
In hindsight, if Miracle hadn’t lost Robert Mubiru, Paul Mwaka, Boniface Okello, Felix Olaba, Godwin Khisa and the high-scoring Donald Ssali before this season began, they would certainly be up there. In this respect, Miracle must guard against losing anymore players if they are to turn this season’s tears to next season’s joy.
# posted by afrbk : 11:27
