There’s that old basketball saying that Coaches lose games and players win them. Guess it’s the same way generals lose battles and wars and never soldiers. It’s always a notion of accountability. Looking back at the recently completed Round 1 of the AfroBasket2021 Qualifiers where the Uganda Silverbacks –the men’s basketball team set Uganda on course for qualification pending Round two in Kigali next February, with a 2-1 record in Alexandria, Egypt.

Without any shred of doubt, this success can be attributed to the Coaching staff with Head Coach George Galanopoulos at the helm. A lot of buzz especially locally ramps up every time a team to represent Uganda is selected. There’s been reservations and criticism especially about who gets selected and for some reason, which team they come from. It’s my opinion though that when it comes to national team duty, we should be more concerned with what a player can bring to the table rather than which team they play for. Which brings me to the point that usually these conversations are void of – The coach’s philosophy.

I’ve always believed that success of any sporting team starts with the selection of the coach. Once you pinpoint the coach, you submit yourself to his or her coaching philosophy and then you put together the pieces that are a fit within that philosophy. As a fan, the next time you query your team selection, ask yourself what the coach’s philosophy is.

In the Ugandan context, we’ve not been coherently blessed with much sized players but we have consistently been blessed with special guards, I can name every guard that’s been on the Silverbacks. From observation and indeed from his comments, Galanopoulos loves to play quick offense. And he loves a much spaced game – we saw a lot of the 5-Out sets, a lot of run and gun and many sets that were quick hitters.  The Silverbacks put up a spirited fight in the Round opening game against Egypt but they’d lose in the fourth quarter with the game ending 96-77. In a post-game interview, Galanopoulos hinted that he preferred the Silverbacks ‘to play quick but not in a rush’.  Indeed the Galanopoulos offence yielded a 94-90 victory against Morocco and a 101-98 victory against Cape Verde. Of course in each of those games and like in any basketball game, you can always refer to some individual player brilliance. Jimmy Enabu was nightly notable against Egypt with 20 points, Robinson Opong took over the game against Morocco with the game high 29 points on some incredible shooting and against Cape Verde, Ishmail Wainright had an insane game of 36 points, 12 boards and 7 assists.

Deng Geu was that consistent player providing the much needed support in buckets and adding that extra layer of protection at the glass and getting boards. I’d think that Galanopoulos and his technical team don’t need Deng to top score in a game but to do just what he’s doing while they run the offense around Wainright and Opong. Let me say I love watching a basketball game that keeps me on the edge of my seat, but not so much when it’s the Silverbacks because I’m extremely emotionally invested – and imagine all closings to all the games were nerve wrecking. The common denominator was that we swallowed an average of 96 points per game in Alexandria, a figure Galanopoulos will be seeking to change in Kigali come February 2021.

Based on the rankings after Round one of AfroBasket 2021 qualifications – rankings drawn by Coach Elizabeth Mills, Uganda Silverbacks are ranked number 3 on offensive ranking. Egypt is the top offensive team with Cape Verde in number 4 and Morocco in 7th position. I think it’s just right to say that Group E has the teams with the best offense in these qualifiers and we ought keep our offense top notch for any realistic chances of AfroBasket 2021. Overall, Uganda ranks number 12 among the 20 teams that are seeking to play at the AfroBasket 2021.

Interestingly and quite rightly so, the local based players have been called into nonresidential camp a lot earlier and I’m hoping they’re working on their conversion rate of shots more than anything so they can be the perfect complement to our key pieces.

By Cucu Brian | Twitter @Cucubrian

VIDEO: In the second episode of the DoubleDown Show, Cucu Brian sits with Coach Stephen Escodatah Nyeko of NBL’s new inductees, Namuwongo Blazers. As coach and one of the patrons, he has catapulted the Namuwongo blazers to the top most league in the country within just four years, including back to back finals in 2018 and 2019 in Division II and Division I respectively. Escodatah has played on winning teams in all three leagues in Uganda. He has played for St Micheal High School, Livingstone, Bushcourt and KCCA Panthers.

In this candid conversation with Brian, Escodatah shares his basketball experiences as a player and coach. He gives valuable insight using the Namuwongo Blazers – a community team as a blueprint, for what small teams in the lower divisions of Uganda can do to become successful and also on how they can work towards attracting sponsorships.

For a new team in the NBL, the Blazers have been very active in drafting new players for their NBL campaign. They have signed Syrus kiviiri, Paul Odong and Fahmy Sebatindira from Betway Power among other players like Kojjo Michael, Katumba Derick, Dudus Monoja and Emmanuel Okumu. Coach Escodatah breaks down the Blazers prospects and aspirations for the NBL. This Interview is candid and revelatory. Watch and share.

WATCH HERE OR CLICK ON LINK TO WATCH ON YOUTUBE>>The DoubleDown Show with Stephen Escodatah

Quite frankly, at the start of the Div II season, you could never have put the Entebbe based Archers Basketball club in the finals which is exactly where they’re. You can’t say the same for their opponents Kampala Rockets who wowed the crowds and somewhat got that favorites tag after obliterating Renor Duhaga with electrifying plays in their season opener.

You hear a lot, that the playoffs are a different ball game, the Archers being the perfect testament to that. How the Archers got to the finals was absolute magic, almost failing to make the top eight and salvaging their post season chances by beating Crane high in their regular season climax in Entebbe. Well, this should have been a sign that they had built thick skin and a reputation for killing giants. Crane high had the longest unbeaten streak in Div II going 8 games unbeaten but when it came to the Archers claiming their playoffs spot, they cared less who lay along the way.

As karma would have it, Archers who were seeded 7th and had to face off with 2nd seeded Crane High in the quarter finals. They overcame Crane High only to meet Emperors in the semi-final. With the series tied 1-1 after game II, Nibert Byamukama hit a crucial game winner from outside the arc to give the Archers a 1 pt win over Emperors in game III and the promotion to Div I and a finals showcase that’s the dream of every team that competes in Div II.

On the other side, Kampala Rockets was sweeping through every series like a tornado and along the way collecting a wave of fans from their dazzling and seamless plays. I must mention, you just get to love the Kampala Rockets – They make basketball fun to watch.

In the finals, Archers could have gone away with game I after having quite a lead but blowing it in the final 3 minutes to lose 87:81. Game II was the exact reversal of game I, because this time Kampala Rockets blows a 16 point advantage only to lose by a point.

Here we are now, finals series (best of 5) tied at 1-1. You can say that nobody expected the Archers to be here but they’re here and they showing all their doubters that they belong.

CeeBee.