NBA action coming closer to Kampala

Matungulu takes the coaching course participants through drills at Gems Cambridge International School. Photo by Sande Bashaija

Kampala- Great things are happening in Ugandan basketball. Starting next month, the country will have its version of the popular America’s National Basketball Association (NBA). The NBA Uganda chapter is, however, starting at junior level.

“We are starting with a league of 40 secondary schools in Kampala,” Grace Kwizera, the project head, told Daily Monitor. Last week, Kwizera and team started by training coaches, who will handle the teams when the competition starts.

South African Kita ‘Thierry’ Matungulu, the NBA Africa representative, facilitated the coaching course at Gems Cambridge International School, Butabika. “We appreciate the fact that most players at this level still need to learn some basics.

That’s why we have started with training coaches,” Kwizera noted. Just like the NBA, currently at the semifinal stage, the Ugandan school teams will be divided into two conferences; East and West.

The schools will adopt names of NBA teams before tip-off while games are to be played on a home-and-away basis with the postseason at Lugogo. The NBA is, however, not directly funding the league, according to Kwizera.

“They are giving us technical support. They have sent us balls and jerseys. It’s now upon us to try and find sponsors for this project,” he said. At the end of the season, the winning team will travel to America for further training. “They will get a real NBA experience,” revealed Kwizera, “they will tour facilities of their favourite NBA teams and watch games on the court side.”

The NBA Junior League is one of the avenues Federation of Uganda Basketball Associations (Fuba) hopes to groom talent.