by Sande Bashaija
Wandegeya
Final results
Men
Warriors 47-53 Coop
Women
KCC Leopards 45-67 KPA
Awards
MVP men – Atike Omondi
(Cooperative)
Women – Irene Mulambe
(KPA)
Top scorer
Men – R. Kasewu (Warriors)
Women – Ayebale Ondori (APR)
Fair play: KCC Leopards
Many fans will feel disillusioned that Kenyan teams had a field day at the Africa Zone 5 Sprite Championships that climaxed Sunday night at YMCA Wandegeya.
Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) had it easy against Kampala City Council (KCC) Leopards, winning the women’s final 67-45 while Cooperative Bank can consider themselves lucky after edging Warriors 53-47 to take the men’s trophy.
So disappointing for the nearly 2,000 fans that filled the YMCA outdoor arena. All is not lost however. The two Ugandan finalists and tournament organizers made a statement for the country. “Our girls made us proud. Reaching the final with the injuries we had is a big feat,” KCC Leopards treasurer Dennis Karugaba said after the game in which a half fit Flavia Oketcho remarkably scored 11 points in the third quarter to help the Ugandan representatives slash a 19-31deficit at half time to 32-35.
“The Kenyans were too physical. Yet Becky (Akullo) and Birungi (Mariam) were also struggling with injuries,” Karugaba noted.
After upsetting Rwanda Patriotic Army (APR) 74-66 in the semifinals, KCC cemented their pedigree as real contenders for the solitary available slot at the Africa Club Championships due December in Benin but KPA were too determined to lift their fourth consecutive title.
No desire
The injuries aside, some KCC players including the towering Annet Nakiwu lacked the desire and were never willing to put up a fight. That can’t be said of Warriors. They played like real warriors throughout the tournament. Coming into the 19-team showpiece as Uganda’s third-best, Warriors surpassed everyone’s expectations.
“I am very proud of my boys. We have lost the battle but not the war. This performance is a sign that Warriors can only get better,” Warriors assistant coach Peter Wandukwa noted. Warriors managed to get out of the tight Group B ahead of local league champions DMark Power and recorded one of the tournament’s biggest upsets when they eliminated Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Lions at the semifinal stage.
That game against KCB was so draining as Warriors had to play catch-up from the start. That probably explains why most Warriors players including Tanzanian Abudullahi Ramathan, the most impressive in the tournament by far, looked fatigued in the final. Crucially, the Warriors technical team also failed to realise the need to make use of fringe players. It dealt them in, finally.
Being the most experienced and successful men’s team, Falcons have no excuse for finishing fourth in the six-team Group A. “It’s hard to explain what went wrong. Players just failed to follow instructions,” a disappointed Falcons patron John Ssimbwa noted. Power, too, failed to live up to expectations while women’s sides A-1 Challenge and KIU Rangers also looked ill-prepared.
Somalia and Sudan failed to send teams after confirming weeks to the tournament but no one cared about their absence. The present teams gave fans beautiful entertainment and the Local Organising Committee deserves a pat on the back.