A new basketball star rises in Mbale region

Player of great potential. The 7.2 feet tall South Sudanese youngster helped his school qualify for the national competitions. PHOTO BY SAM MPOZA

KAMPALA. The basketball competition of the May 4-11 Fresh Dairy Secondary Schools Games ended successfully in Mbale with St Mary’s kitende and Buddo Secondary school sealing the Girls and boys title respectively.
The seven days championship hosted by Mbale Secondary School was a revelation of upcoming basketball talent in both categories.
However the most eye catching talent was the towering 16 year old Mathew Mayom from St Cyprian Kyabakadde.

Mayom, now in Senior Two, only school last year in December from Buddo Secondary School.
 The 7.2 feet tall South Sudanese youngster helped his school qualify for the national competitions for the first ever and guided it to the round of last sixteen.
“I’m the one who started basketball in this school and in a space of just four months look at how far we have come, I’m proud of our performance so far,” Mayom shared.

“Right now I have about six schools which want to take me but it will all depend on my manager coach John Omondi. If he tells to move to another school I will not hesistate,” Mayom added.
St Cyprian Kyabakadde won every group game until they lost to Turkish Academy by 27- 47 points in the knockouts.
 The school was not sports oriented before until last September when now headteacher Joseph Kamya migrated from Seeta High – Main Campus, where he served as deputy headteacher.

 Kamya was also behind the building of a successful sports background at Seeta High Green campus were he also served as deputy headteacher after the school was opened in 2012.
 “We set up the facilities early before we assembled the team so I’m not surprised that my team have come this far. We planned for everything. Next year I want to bring back a team to compete for the national title,” Kamya, who sadly arrived in Mbale moments after his team had been ejected from the competition, said.

According to Omondi, the technical director at the school, building the team around Mayom was no accident but a well laid out plan.
 “We got Mayom out of Buddo SS because he was young but still weak on court. We wanted him to build his own empire so that he works hard for it and becomes strong. He is a player of great potential and he will definitely end up abroad in a few years,” Omondi explained.
 Just so the teenager can know about his future, Omondi categorically stated: “We may not let him move to another school very soon because we want him to have a stable career development.”