Basketball in Africa

UCU Canons hammered their archrivals Ndejje University Angels 78-66 in the FUBA league on April 15 at YMCA.

UCU Canons showcased brilliant passing of the ball and endurance till the final second, to put Ndejje Angels down right from the first quarter which ended at 24-13. Then they kept a powerful lead of over five points throughout the second quarter to end it at 44-37.
However, in the third, Ndejje bounced back levelling with Canons.
Pressure mounted both between the players and coaches while the Ndejje fans went electrified by the thrilling comeback.
Canons’ Desmond Owili was brought on after January Naftary was sent off. His dismissal turned out to be a blessing in disguise since Owili inspired the Canons to regain their lead of five points. Owili scored crucial four points immediately he was brought on court and calmed the players and coach. The canons regained confidence in their play and wrapped a well deserved win of 76-66.
“We are getting to work together as a team after losing our first game. We were disorganised but now we are going back to our winning ways,” Owili said after the game.
Assistant coach Frankline Ochieng was delighted by finishing top in the ‘tough game’.
“We knew we would win but not by such a wide margin,” he said.
Meanwhile Lady Canons are back at sweeping the competition after thrashing Nkumba Lady Marines 49-12 on April 14. The performance notwithstanding, the ladies were convinced they should have done better than that.
“The game drained us a lot because we were playing in the hot midday sun. We have always played late evening or at night,” Angella Namirimu, Lady Canons captain, said.

UCU JV is still failing to grab victory in the first games after falling at the hands of Diamonds 51-58, a team they beat throughout last season.
Coach Nicholas Natuhereza was disappointed by the team’s lack of aggression in the game.
“Players put in poor effort, for they played casually. They started the game poorly but failed to recover,” Natuhereza said.