Basketball in Africa

KIU vs. Eagles (7pm)
W: Stormers vs. KIU (5.30pm)
UCU vs. Nabisunsa (4pm)
Div. 2: UCU JV vs. Gulu (2.30pm)
Bush Courts vs. Sharing (1pm)
City Oilers vs. D’onds (11.30am)
Rhino vs. Shooters (10am)

Record men’s champions Falcons and women giants KCCA Leopards are among the most affected. Unless something drastic happens, Tanzanian guard Abdullahi Ramdahan will miss the playoffs.

Dulah, in his second season with Falcons, featured in only three games having stayed away for most of the season for personal reasons. The controversial rule 2.2.1 states that: “A player must be listed on at least 5 preliminary or regular game score sheets for that team in order to play for that team in the quarter final, semifinal and final playoff games”.

Similar to Dulah, KIU Titans’ Markmot Orom has only played twice. “We knew this rule but hoped things would be different. Anyway, he (Dulah) won’t play and we will still win,” Falcons boss Dennis Mbidde said. DMark Power’s Carol Bisereko has also been absent due to work.

Other cases involve Warriors’ Eric Malinga and UCU Canons Robert Ogweno. Malinga injured his knee on the opening day of the season whereas Ogweno only recovered from an injury sustained during last year’s playoffs not too long ago.

In the women’s league, former MVP Miriam Hamala, who works upcountry and has featured intermittently for KCCA, will be sorely missed as the City ladies try to wrestle the title from UCU Lady Canons.

Her teammates Becky Akullo and Linda Tamale, both of whom have had maternity leave, are also ineligible. The state is repeated in divisions two and three. It’s possible the spirit of the rule was to protect the local game by preventing teams from signing players just before playoffs or even cases where some have featured in more than one league in the region in a calendar year. “I don’t think they foresaw all these other scenarios,” KCCA coach Timothy Odeke said.