Written by Immaculate Wanyenze
As the excitement of the recently concluded Sprite schools’ basketball championship subsides, the burning question is whether this tournament is helping groom talent.
Tom Ocamringa, the general secretary of local basketball body Fuba says that most players in the national league have gone through the Sprite tournament. Ocamringa also notes that students are exposed to the real rules of the game.
“This helps to prepare the students for the big stage as they get more knowledge about the game,” he says.
Kennedy Mutenyo, the Coca-Cola promotions manager says; “the competition in this event is shown in the fact that it’s hard for any team to defend the title.”
Although Buddo SSS defended its 2009 girls title by beating Old Kampala SSS 64-24, the boys of Ssaku SSS, winners in 2009 lost in the semis to Old Kampala SSS who eventually beat Lubiri High 54-48. Of the 17 schools that participated, Ocamringa notes, if these players are exposed more, they will become terrific players in the future.
Meanwhile, the race to select the best 30 boys from the tournament was also very tight. The 30 are currently undergoing intensive skill development training at Uganda Christian University, Mukono.
Groomed well, these boys will make it to the under-18 national team. From that, three players will be chosen to travel to the US for the National Basketball Association (NBA) training camp in October.
Students like Stella Oyella from Buddo SS, Chryspus Kilemba who was the boy‘s top scorer, Abel Thon from Old Kampala SS who won the award of Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the boys category, were a joy to behold.
In 2005, Francis Tumusiime was the MVP at the Sprite School’s championship held at St. Henry’s College Kitovu, Masaka. He was at Eagle’s Nest High School then. He’s now been one of Falcons best players over the last three years and a highly regarded point-guard who came to the fore at the Sprite event.