2019 Basketball Review: Year of Change

BASKETBALL

New order

Nasser Sserunjogi and Grace Kwizera's showdown at the polls may have passed with relatively limited drama but no event in 2019 will have a greater impact on Ugandan basketball going forward.

After 12 years of Ambrose Tashobya as basketball governing body's FUBA president, Sserunjogi took on the baton following a decisive win over Kwizera in a process that strengthened the democratic culture of Ugandan basketball while highlighting simmering tensions within the sport.

The City Oilers versus rest of FUBA divide that seemed only imaginary before the polls took on a real face during the elective process that subsequent tensions have done little to remove. Mohammed Santur's willingness to resign as head of the national teams after Kwizera's defeat followed by the defused controversy over the Oilers request for a postponement of the 2019 NBL Finals due to the second round of the BAL qualifiers all served as flashpoints of electorally fractured relationships.

Daphne Tashobya (center) and her daughter pick former FUBA president Ambrose Tashobya's Award from FUBA president Nasser Sserunjogi at the awards dinner at Kabira Country Club, April 7 2019. Photo by Michael Nsubuga

One of the key legacies of Tashobya's reign was its astonishing diplomacy, consistently diffusing tensions and producing filial unity within the basketball fraternity. Sserunjogi's executive may come to struggle sustaining a like spirit of camaraderie but it would be worth the effort.

AfroCan pain

There was a unifying cause in the aftermath of the polls but neither the Uganda Gazelles nor the Silverbacks would be able to make home advantage count as they stumbled in FIBA Africa Zone V qualification.

Claire Lamunu in action against Egypt during the AFROCAN qualifiers in Kampala. Photo: Richard Sanya

The results did not only raise serious questions about the future of the national teams, right from the unpredictable government funding that denied the Gazelles and Silverbacks adequate preparation, but it cost the Silverbacks a spot at the inaugural AfroCan tournament, which saw rivals Kenya finish as runners up.

Jimmy Enabu in action against Kenya during the AfroCan qualifiers. Photo by Richard Sanya

JKL history

There was, however, joy for Uganda in its women champions JKL Lady Dolphins, who made history becoming the first Ugandan club to lift the FIBA Zone V Women's Club Championship when they humbled feared Kenyan opposition on the way to the 2019 crown in Dar es Salaam.

JKL could not afford to participate in the subsequent Africa Champions Cup but they would go on to defend their National Basketball League (NBL) championship after an epic best-of-seven Finals against the UCU Lady Canons that went to Game 7 overtime.

JKL Lady Dolphins at the FUBA Awards dinner. Photo by Michael Nsubuga

Oilers BAL quest

There was no Zone V glory for the Oilers as the men's tournament gave way to the Basketball Africa League (BAL) qualifiers first round, where the Ugandan champions finished second to Rwanda's Patriots and good enough to reach the second and final qualification round in Kigali.

A top-three finish for the Oilers at the Kigali round will catapult them to the inaugural BAL regular season and a $70, 000 participation prize. Before the March 2020 BAL tipoff, the Oilers will attempt to secure their seventh consecutive NBL title when the last four games of their best-of-seven Finals against the UCU Canons resume sometime next month.

The Oilers lead 2-1 but UCU has more bodies and if they find a way of making their numerical advantage count the rest of the series could be competitive.

City Oilers' James Okello (center) fights for a rebound with UCU Canons' Peter Sifuma (left) and Joseph Chuma during game one of the best of seven final play-offs game at Lugogo, Nov 28 2019. UCU won 67-59. Photo by Michael Nsubuga

Africa 3x3 feat unforgettable

The FIBA Africa 3x3 Cup was competitive and so much more for the Ugandan basketball audience.

As tournament hosts, Uganda put on a memorable event on and off the court, finishing fifth and third in the senior men and women's categories respectively while placing third and second in the boys and girls U-18 Cup respectively.

The 3x3 format has a way to go in these parts but the Africa Cup was proof that it is on the right path.

Uganda U-18 boys bronze winners at the FIBA 3X3 African cup. Photo by Richard Sanya

FUBA dinner

The return of the FUBA awards dinner was certainly a return to the right way of doing things, with the last such event having come three years ago.

Brenda Akon and Jamilah Nansikombi were rightly named regular season and Finals MVP respectively in the women's NBL while Landry Ndikumana and James Okello scooped the equivalent accolades in the NBL, unquestionably too.

Mohamed Santur presents the NBL Playoffs MVP-Women award to JKL Dolphins Jamila Nansikombi during the FUBA Awards gala at Kabira Country Club, April 7, 2019. Photo by Michael Nsubuga

Enabu shocker

Ndikumana and Okello's team-mate Jimmy Enabu's decision to switch gears and go into the flying profession shook the entire hoops fraternity while forcing them to take stock of just what sort of special player the seven-time NBL champion truly was.

Enabu has not exactly gone into retirement but the writing is on the wall that a career capable of excelling for another five years is in an effective swansong notwithstanding his appearances in the NBL postseason and BAL second-round qualifiers.

City Oilers' Jimmy Enabu (left) beats Power's Phillip Ameny at Lugogo, April 12 2019. Photo by Michael Nsubuga