Basketball must brave the 'House of Pain'

By Charles Mutebi

Airtel National Basketball League

Today, YMCA
Women: UCU v KCCA
Men: Warriors v City Oil

Last year the Airtel National Basketball League seemed unstoppable, going on live TV for the first time.

Now, even the rain is threatening to wash away the hopes of a sport that appeared set to break even.

This is the legacy of the MTN Arena, which is branded so restrictively sports with other sponsors seeking to get some game-day mileage have been locked out of using what is supposed to be a public facility.

If the Lugogo Indoor Stadium was a truly national facility established to promote local sports, the MTN Arena has degenerated into a sad monument to corporate interests gone amok. For the basketball fraternity, it’s hard to understand why the MTN Arena has always been a ‘house of pain’ for their beloved sport.

On Wednesday, governing body FUBA was once again forced to cancel matches after an evening downpour rendered the YMCA court unusable. Today, FUBA will hope the weather permits the UCU Lady Canons to face the KCCA Leopards, and the Riham Warriors and City Oilers to clash in two tantalising matches.

But it is more than likely the rain will have the last say. In the meantime, players stay out of action, with just over two weeks before Uganda host the FIBA Afrobasket Zone V Championship.

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