01 July 2013

UGANDA : Expensive Fuba hoops set to be installed after months of waiting

Expensive Fuba hoops set to be installed after months of waiting
Warriors Henry Malinga elevating to the bucket in a Fuba League first round encounter against City Oilers at the Lugogo MTN-NCS Arena. The old hoops are to be replaced. Photo by Ismail Kezaala. 
By Ismail Dhakaba Kigongo

Posted  Wednesday, July 31  2013 at  00:00
In Summary
If NCS come good with their promise, last year’s finalists – Warriors and Falcons – will get the first shot at the hoops when they meet on Friday.
              This might sound a little bit stale – the basketball hoops meant for the refurbished Lugogo Indoor Stadium will be installed this week. “Everything has been cleared and athletes should be able use the equipment,” National Council of Sports (NCS) chairman John Bosco Onyik told a radio programme over the weekend.

The hoops were purchased last year from Germany at a cost of Shs76m but have been stuck with the tax authorities since December.

“We have been able to play the tax amounting as of Shs36m as of last week,” Onyik added. Ever since the facility was closed for renovation three years ago, it has become a case of seeing is believing.

“NCS have promised and confirmed that the hoops will be there this week,” Ali Balunywa, the basketball body publicist, said yesterday.

Following the one-year closure from 2010, now renamed the Lugogo MTN Arena, it made cameo reappearance during the 2011 Fuba League playoffs.

UCU-Falcons game

It had reopened with an undulating floor and was closed for further work which took another year. That wasn’t the end of the story.
   Last year, a game between UCU Canons and Falcons was called off at the eleventh hour with engineers alleging that using the old hoops would harm the floor. In the end, Daily Monitor learnt that it was a war of corporate branding. All those fears came to pass as the same hoops have been used since late last year without any hindrance to the floor. The same hoops are being used for the 2013 season.
However, the signs of wear and tear are very evident on the old hoops as the welding machines are never too far away from lending a helping hand
If NCS come good with their promise this time, last year’s finalists – Warriors and Falcons – will get the first shot at the hoops when they meet on Friday for the first time since the finals. That would be a fitting game to unveil the hoops.

ikigongo@ug.nationmedia.com

# posted by afrbk : 12:16
Comments: Post a Comment



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?