Cavendish Determined|ZUKU League

Zuku Basketball League
Conferences Finals
Men
UCU 70 UMU 40
Ndejje 53 Cavendish 48
Women
UCU 69 Makerere 47
Ndejje 50 Cavendish 33

A game between Ndejje University Angels and Cavedish University is supposed to be a total mismatch. They hardly share anything in common besides both being university basketball teams.

Ndejje Angels with probably the biggest financial muscle among local instutions have been here long enough and have as many Airtel National Basketball league playoffs to show for it. Cavendish basketball team are only two months old and have nothing sports-wise to show off but this particular match up was full of 3s, technicals but Ndejje beat the grind to take the honours.

But, while this has been Cavendish’s first basketball team at any level, there has been too little to illustrate the gulf in history, they have twice posted boundless performances against the superpowers in Ndejje though the final result frustrated.

“It’s very sweet,” Fred Mufta the Cavendish University Uganda Sports coordinator tells Red Pepper Online.

“The experience was an encouraging one making the conference playoffs when most people had written us off. We actually had the lowest rating in our conferences having played no basketball before,” he beamingly added.

Both the men and ladies team made it to the conference finals.

“Every sports discpline is different but this was the biggest challenge personally to manage a team that had just come up and in a sport am not familiar with,” the retired FIFA referee added.

“Throughout the conference games, we always gave our best at first playing without uniform jerseys because we had registered late for the championship.

Not only will Cavendish reflect on the matter of defeat, but also use the inaugural basketball to request for a sports budget and enter more sports disciplines at different levels.

“By May 2014 we shall have assembled a strong team to take part in other Sports disciplines like beach soccer, woodball and tennis,: Mufta had vowed in an earlier interview.

He reveals that the Kansanga based institution is yet to offer sports scholarships like other universities but with time it will also be able to attract the best talents in the country.

No one at university side wants this more than youngster Jacob Tocmac, who like most of his teammates plays for the South Sudanese refugee team at Nsambya Sharing Hall. “Getting support from the University will definitely push to ably competeting with the big guns,” he asserted. “We are set out for a good future of sports if all goes well. We want to represent Cavendish and expose our talents.

In the game played on Sunday at MTN Arena Lugogo, Ndejje University dispatched Cavendish in both categories to set up what should enthralling finals especially in the men’s category with firm favourites Uganda Christian University who saw off Uganda Martyrs Uinversity and Makerere University in the men and women’s categories respectively in the conference finals.

While UCU ladies look way to superior and may not get a lot trouble from Ndejje ladies and the game might not be as competitive a final should be, Jonathan Egau (who has led UCU through the league), Brian Wacha and company will have to compete to beat Geoffrey Soro, Jonah Otim and Ndejje to the championship in the men’s category.

Meanwhile a few more other games will be played on Thursday and Friday for ranking purposes.