Basketball in Africa

Tomorrow at YMCA
Uganda v UCU (8pm)
Women friendly
Select side v Uganda (6pm)

Stephen Omony is set to lead the Uganda men’s basketball team at the Fiba Zone V Nations Championship in Kigali, Rwanda next month after being named captain.

The decision to hand him the leadership was announced by coaches Gad Eteu and Timothy Odeke on Wednesday night after a practice session at UCU, Mukono.

Miracle Eagles’ Omony, one of the most heralded Ugandan basketball players over the past decade, will be assisted by point guard Ben Komakech. “In Stephen, the team gets a very dedicated person that everyone can learn from,” Eteu explained in appointing the small forward, also a two-time Most Valuable Player.

Skipped training
He piped DMark Power stars Isaac Afidra and Norman Blick after the duo skipped training over the weekend due to appointments known to the team management.

Omony’s selection is not as surprising as Komakech’s since the latter rarely speaks with passion and often concentrates on doing his job which he excels at. “This is not about only this Zone V but we are looking at the long term future of the team that has several young players and Ben can help bridge that gap well,” Eteu commented.

The two teams – men and women – also received belated news of the postponement of the tournament from February 1-6 to 7-14 even though organizers never gave any concrete reasons. “Of course, it gives more time to prepare since we started late and hopefully, we can utilize the bonus time to our advantage,” he reasoned. Both Eteu and the women’s coach Mandy Juruni, assisted by Hamza Nyambogo, retained 14 players in training to break away from the assertion of naming their final teams of 12 this week.

Juruni will appoint a skipper this weekend. Meanwhile, Team Uganda will play trial games at YMCA Court, Wandegeya tomorrow evening in a bid to raise funds for the trip. The women’s squad will also face a select side.