City Oil sign star guard Komakech

By Charles Mutebi

The biggest transfer in the National Basketball League (NBL) this year has gone the way of the team that won the biggest prize last year.

Ben Komakech, the three-time FUBA Champion, two-time Finals MVP and national team starting point guard, is now a member of reigning national champions City Oil.

The silky guard joins as a free agent on a two-year contract.

Komakech was the face of five-time champions D’Mark Power since leading them to the title in 2008, the same year he had joined them from Miracle.

Komakech, named Finals MVP that same season, would help Power win the 2011 and 2012 championship, scooping his second Finals MVP gong to cement his place among the club greats.

But Power have flopped in the playoffs for the last two seasons, making them vulnerable to losing their best players.

Last year, Power lost Jimmy Enabu to City Oil, where he went on to have his best season yet.

Power were unfortunate to lose Jimmy’s younger brother Emmanuel in the middle of last season when the prodigious point guard chose to pursue higher studies in Canada.

Komakech’s departure means that Power have now lost three of Uganda’s best guards in less than 15 months.

But Power director Phillip Kyomuhendo insists that the club will survive.

“Power has been around since the 1980s and has seen many good players come and go,” said Kyomuhendo.

He added, “When the new season starts, Power will be one of the best teams. Just wait and see”.

Komakech was part of the national team that recently won the Mapinduzi Cup in Zanzibar but is now back in training for the upcoming season.