17 December 2012

UGANDA : Three-horse race for Fuba playoffs MVP

Warriors small forward Blick, a mulitple winner of championships and 2005 MVP, (left) is one of the contenders for the 2012 AWARD.
Warriors small forward Blick, a mulitple winner of championships and 2005 MVP, (left) is one of the contenders for the 2012 AWARD. photo by Ismail Kezaala.
By Ismail Dhakaba Kigongo

This Fuba league season didn’t offer so much in terms of individual play deserving of a single player to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP). The song of the regular season was oscillation. “To be honest with you, no player has been consistent,” DMark Power point guard Ben Komakech said.
Since his team was knocked out at the quarterfinal stage by UCU Canons, Komakech, a two-time MVP in 2008 and 2010 as Power won the championship, he has only managed to watch two games of the finals. He refused to pick an individual from either Warriors or Falcons, the two teams that reached the finals, for a playoffs MVP. However, some players have stood out despite their flaws. Warriors’ hopes of ending the unplatable record of losing two successive finals are being led by Norman Blick.
The forward who can also play on the back court has scored 84 points, 25 rebounds and nine assists to give Warriors a 3-2 lead. “No one plays thinking about an MVP title. It’s important not to be selfish,” Blick, an MVP from 2001 and 2005, reasoned. He joined them from Miracle Eagles this season.
Kenyan centre Philip Ameny and Stephen Omony have held Falcons in good stead. Ameny has 51 points and 45 rebounds in what has been a fluctuating postseason for him.
Omony, despite being late for the two Falcons’ victories in Games One and Three, has managed 68 points, 37 rebounds and 11 assists. “Everyone is doing their best to win,” Omony, who lost his head and verbally attacked umpired following the Game Five loss, said.
Komakech knows a thing or two about finishing the job if a player is to an MVP crown. “It’s going to be very hard to choose one. It normally comes down to who does the job in the decider,” Komakech noted.
Power’s Isaac Afidra, the reigning MVP, needed five double-doubles to be crowned MVP for the first time last season but has not watched the finals. “I only play basketball. I don’t watch that much,” he often says, rather arrogantly.
Players will naturally say they prioritise team glory over individual achievement. But deep down, they’ll privately want to win the MVP accolade.
ikigongo@ug.nationmedia.com

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