Rezlife Saints target next level after best-ever season
Rezlife finished third in the regular season, a record for the club, before defeating Sommet 2-1 in the playoff quarterfinals.
Rezlife Saints. File photo
The Rezlife Saints had their best-ever season this year.
They are dreaming of topping that next season.
“We want to go to the next level,” Rezlife coach Moses Okwera told New Vision Sports in an interview.
“I was so happy with last season because our goal was to reach the semifinals, and we achieved it. Now we want to win at least two or three games in the semifinals. That is the level we want to go next season.”
Rezlife finished third in the regular season, a record for the club, before defeating Sommet 2-1 in the playoff quarterfinals. Those two wins were their first in the postseason, and they secured their passage to the semis to face the City Oilers.
Okwera and the Saints know how hard it will be to scale those heights, but that is exactly what they want to do.
“First, we have to push and go to second place during the regular season and then try to reach the Finals. We have to break into that class of the City Oilers and Namuwongo Blazers.”
Okwera added, "The management is ready for it. They also want to compete at the highest level.”
It won’t come easy, and Okwera knows it.
“They say the higher you go, the cooler it becomes, but I say the higher you go, the hotter it becomes. We will have to look for sponsorships, facilities to train the players, go to the gym.”
Needless to add, they will also need better players.
“We will need a budget (to upgrade the roster in the playoffs). We didn’t sign any player in the second round, but if you want to compete for titles, you have to be able to bring in, like, three players as the other big teams do.”
Okwera is also counting on finding young talent that can carry the club for years, a strategy that paid off remarkably in Edrine Ekau, who was named regular season MVP in his debut NBL season.
“There are so many young players,” says Okwera. “Some of them were with Edrine in the U20 national team. We need to bring in such players because you can build around them.”
Rezlife are building something special, and who knows what history they will write next? Perhaps even next season?