Sande Bashaija
Kampala
Zone 5 winners and hosts since 1995
Year Hosts Men Women
1995 Harare Posta KCB Lioness
1996 Nairobi Co-op KCB Lioness
1997 Kampala Co-op KCB Lioness
1998 Dar Co-op KCB Lioness
1999 Lusaka Cobras Telkom
2000 Kampala Falcons Ogopa
2001 Kigali Vijana APR
2002 Nairobi APR KPA
2003 Zanzibar Ulinzi JKT
2004 Kampala PostBank Lady Bucks
2005 Dar KCB Storms
2006 Nairobi KCB KPA
2007 Kigali APR KPA
2008 Addis APR KPA
2009 Kampala Coop KPA
Going by results from the recently concluded Africa Zone 5 Sprite Championship, something is evidently wrong in the DMark Power camp. The local league champions came into the 19-team regional tournament as Uganda’s biggest silverware hopeful.
After all they had destroyed all the nine teams in the MTN-Fuba League first round and in them Ugandans had belief of landing a first men’s zonal title in five years. But Power chose to press the reverse button. In a group of five teams, they only managed two wins, one of which came against local rivals Warriors. The 98-96 result against Warriors was, however, inconsequential as the latter had already made the semifinals and the former eliminated. So what happened to a team that boasts of Uganda’s best talent? “I think we were not fully prepared for the tournament,” the league’s most valuable player Ben Komakech, argued. “But everything will be fine.” Undoubtedly, Power have the biggest following in Uganda at the moment, thanks to their extravagant talent and ‘sexy’ basketball.
However, you’ve got to feel for diehard fans that had to forego their duties and dig deep into their pockets to watch the champions run around the basketball court, with little purpose, it must be added.
An 89-53 thumping of Tanzanian side JKT got Power rolling, prompting expectations of a smooth sailing. But the road would later get bumpy. Cooperative Bank squeezed Power, downing them 63-61 although the Ugandans still had a mathematical chance of making the last four even after the loss.
Playing at Makerere University, a venue that surprisingly attracted a handful of fans on the day, Power blew their last chance when they carelessly lost to Rwandan outfit CSK 82-91. Everything went amiss thereafter. Insiders in the Power camp revealed to Scoreline that two senior players exchanged blows after the loss, an embarrassing scenario that is just a tip of the iceberg of a brewing crisis at Power.
With only pride to play for, only six Power players turned up in time for their classification match against Marines of Rwanda. Although they went on to win 99-88, the incident of a depleted Power bench exposed depth of cracks developing in the team. Conspicuously missing during that match was Shs20m signing Norman Blick. The former MVP had picked bruises against CSK but his absence reportedly brushed the club managers the wrong way. Yet, it has been reported that Blick does not see eye to eye with Isaac Afidra, the man he replaced as Power captain at the beginning of the season.
Despite admitting that all is not rosy in the Power camp, Afidra, one of the most outstanding players in last year’s play-offs, denies being at parallels with Blick. “That is all nonsense. There is nothing like a misunderstanding between Blick and I,” he said.
Since the arrival of Norman and his brother Donald, knowledgeable sources claim, there have been tensions in the team because of the ‘large’ sums of money paid to the duo.
“Players who have served this club for long think they deserve better,” revealed the source on grounds of anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the press.
Norman signed a two-year contract but his agent Sabuni Kamal won’t think twice about trading his client to another club if the situation doesn’t get better at Power. “Why would someone want a player to come for a game when he is injured,” Kamal wondered. “Norman is a professional and his services are valued highly by many clubs. I think some things must change in the team set-up.”
It’s really a difficult task discerning what is threatening to bring down a hitherto promising project. But Barnes Ankunda seems to know the problem. “That team needs someone capable of stepping on the players’ egos. Most of them feel they are big and want to prove a point to each other. They can’t listen to anyone,” Ankunda, who won last year’s championship with Power as an assistant coach said.
Ankunda left the three-time champions towards the end of this season’s first round after misunderstandings with the powers that be at Power. Second round is just days away and questions will be asked whether Power can maintain their unbeaten run and hold off a fired-up Warriors side and record champions Falcons, to retain their trophy. “There is no way that Zone 5 performance is going to affect us in the league. The league is business as usual,” Afidra noted.
Real warriors
In contrast, Peter Wandukwa, an assistant coach at Warriors, reckons that Zone 5 could have marked a shift of power on the local scene. “Although we lost, reaching the final is just good enough for us. No one expected us to get here and everyone should watch out when the league resumes,” Wandukwa noted. Warriors lost to Cooperative 47-53 in the final but made Uganda proud by their brave performances throughout the week.
Their come-from-behind victory against Kenyan champions KCB Lions in the semifinals was the highlight of the tournament. It’s only disappointing that they failed to break down Cooperative in the final, a team they had beaten 64-60 in preliminaries.
To single out a few, Tanzanian Ramathan Abdullahi, Jude Ochen and tournament top scorer Ronnie Kasewu, were too outstanding and should they pull off similar heroics, Warriors won’t let Power run away with the league trophy with ease.
Leopards
Kampala City Council (KCC) Leopards lost the women’s Zone 5 final 47-65 to Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) but their general performance in the tournament was satisfactory.
The 74-66 drubbing of Rwanda Patriotic Army (APR) left a lasting memory in many a fan’s mind. It was the biggest upset of the tournament. “It’s the first time we were playing in the final and I can’t complain that we have lost,” KCC official Dennis Karugaba commented. “Let’s now focus on taking the league title and plan for next year’s Zone 5.”
A-1 Challenge were grouped with KCC and failed to make the semifinals and their squad looks slightly depleted compared to the mayor’s ladies. And now that Zone 5 is behind us, both sides are keen to outdo each other in the league. Its just a question of time before we see who delivers.
Zone 5 at a glance
Worst moment: When a KCB Lions player threatened to hit some Warriors supporters with a bottle. The incident brought the final to a halt, prompting police to swing into action.
Best moment: When KCC Leopards shocked APR to make the women’s final.
MVP men: Atike Omondi (Coop): A very daring player that can fit comfortably in any position on the court.
Women: Irene Mulambe (KPA): A true warrior, whose flair left many opponents in awe.
Best individual performance: Stephen Omony’s 34-point haul as Falcons edged Newstars 86-85 in the group stages.
Worst team performance: Power’s 82-91 loss to CSK. The Uganda champions played like a disjointed unit.
Craziest moment: When an animated female fan decided to entertain the crowd during the Falcons-Newstar game.