National basketball: Stormers below par

By Charles Mutebi

National Basketball League Friday fixtures (at YMCA)

Women: Stormers v A1

Men: Power v Falcons


The Magic Stormers produced the 2013 MVP and won a semi-final playoff game last season. In other words, it was their best ever National Basketball League (NBL) campaign.

But with MVP Carol Nyafono off to Canada for studies and with other key players in and out of the team because of conflicting obligations with netball’s She Cranes, the Stormers have been a shadow of the team that threatened to expand the race for supremacy in the women’s NBL to three teams.

These are stormy times for the Magic, who take on A1 Challenge tomorrow at the YMCA with slim hopes of victory.

A1 Challenge better A1 have, in fact, leapfrogged the Stormers as the third best team in the WNBL, thanks to the return of Elizabeth Kizza and Hatima Kassim and the blockbuster signing of Maureen Amoding.

But Stormers coach John Omondi is resisting the temptation to panic after a season that has yielded just four wins from 11 matches. Omondi sees a turnaround down the road but till then, he’s plan is to keep fighting.

“Despite our challenges, we want to give our best every time,” said Omondi, who will be without She Cranes stars Rachel Nanyonga and Ruth Meme.

The pair is in residential She Cranes training ahead of next month’s netball World Cup in Australia and won’t return to the Stormers until late next month.

Falcons get new boss Bernard Oluoch faces an uphill task of bringing back glorious days at Falcons after taking over as the new manager at the club.

Oluoch, a Kenyan former national player, replaces Sam Obol, who will assume a new role as the club’s technical director.