Afidra ready to carry young Power side
Old guard: Afridra will hope Power can go all the way when the National Basketball League tips off next Saturday. PHOTO/ISMAIL KEZAALA
Betway Power are about to mark exactly 10 years since their last league title. December 16, 2011 is the last time the side won the championship.
Forward Isaac Afidra, the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the finals of that memorable season, is the only surviving member of the team.
With his four championships, he is tasked to lead a team of players who still need introduction in basketball circles.
Afidra, alongside Nasser Guddi and Brian Sivachi are the only members left of the team that dismally collapsed to lose 3-1 UCU Canons in the 2019 semi-final series.
That collapse forced management at the club to clean up. Joseph Ikong, Philip Ameny, Paul Odong, Cyrus Kiviri, Fahmy Ssebatindira, Libe Makala, Samuel Agutu and David Opolot were asked to move on.
Even with the drastic changes, Afidra is confident.
“We shall be competitive,” Afidra says after a training session this week.
“I am excited about the prospect of this new team,” he added before revealing that change will always be there in life.
“You have to be prepared when change surfaces however drastic.”
Besides having a young side, head coach Arnold Lando has added centre Saidi Amisi and shooting guard Steven Wundi.
Wundi, who played in the league finals with UCU in 2016, is making a return to Power after a year playing back home in South Sudan.
Regardless of the expectations, they need time together.
“It is a young team and everyone is willing to work hard and learn. That was not the case the last few seasons,” Lando vows.
“It is one thing to have a good team and another to get results. We had a good team last season but we didn’t get results.”
Discipline
Power have over the years been in the news for the wrong reasons and management tried to curb that by letting go of players thought to be the problem, turns out it was everyone.
After winning game one of the semis in 2019, most players failed to turn up for training the next day. UCU won the next three games and took the series.
“These players are younger and coachable. They keep time and have no excuses.” Lando said in comparison with the previous squad.
The league tips off on April 17.
Betway power squad
Arion Osama, Elvis Ssentongo, Guddi Nasser, Tonny Wafula, Salim Kisilu, Isaac Afidra, Brian Sivachi, Saidi Amisi, Patrick Seduge, Steven Wundi, Adnan Kabuye, Joel Morris, Gauthier Badhera
