Bbale: UCU Canons star guard can’t wait to get going

Bbale, who has been out injured since April, returns today against Namuwongo Blazers.   PHOTO/ISMAIL KEZAALA

What you need to know:

  • The Canons are definitely a better side with Bbale on the floor and his return will be seen as a positive going into the business end of the season.
     

As the UCU Canons defeated Namuwongo Blazers 66-62 in the first round, Fayed Bbale could not help but feel sorry for himself.

He had his hand in a cast and sat behind the team bench having suffered a hand injury in the team’s previous game, a 58-44 win over champions City Oilers.

The Canons almost threw the game away as they turned the ball over for fun in the fourth quarter.
Saidi Amisi had come on in the third quarter to get the Blazers offense going and it took Peter Sifuma’s six points in the last two minutes for the university side to go home with victory.

As Bbale nursed his injury, he eventually stopped even showing up for games and will only return tonight when the Canons take on the Blazers.

“I won’t say I am back to full fitness but I feel better now,” Bbale told Daily Monitor ahead of his return. “I felt better and I just want to play man, it has been long . I’m so excited to be back.”
The Canons started the first round on a good run that was only ended in dramatic fashion in the defeat by Victoria University Sharing.

Bbale was not part of the team and, in fact, the Canons have not lost any game with the point guard on the floor this season.

Tough time out 

Young and hungry players such as Bbale do not enjoy watching the game from the sidelines, they want to be in the thick of things. The injury kept him out of the Silverbacks team that played in the second round of the Fiba World Cup Qualifiers in Kigali, Rwanda early this month.

“It (injury) was tough for me at first but I had to accept what had happened and move on with the flow.  It wasn’t easy, I felt like giving up for a second but had to stay strong mentally.” 

Canons still good 

The Canons are definitely a better side with Bbale on the floor and his return will be seen as a positive going into the business end of the season.
He finds the team on a 14-4 record and in second place.

“The team is still good and I am just happy to be back with the boys,” he said. 

Tonight’s opponents, the Blazers, are highly regarded as a team that can challenge Oilers for the championship this year and Bbale acknowledges that fact.

“They are a tough team and made some good additions. That, however, doesn’t stop us from competing, we just want to compete,.”

Team captain Titus Lual believes Bbale comes at a time the team needs his services most.
He said, “It’s a big deal to have him back. He did us good in first round and him coming back will be big help to our back court,” Lual said. 

The team will miss the services of head coach Nicholas Natuhereza, who is in Ivory Coast for a Fiba Instructors’  Course.