Power find new depth beyond the abyss they are wallowing in

Betway Power are in a deep hole but still digging. They are winless in five and bottom of the log.

A 0-5 start was not something management anticipated when recruiting an entirely new roster to replace the underachieving superstars from the previous season.

There are only four games left in the regular season for the five-time champions and they must win all to stand a chance of getting into the playoffs.

KCCA Panthers, UCU Canons, Namuwongo Blazers and Falcons are the remaining games for Power and each is a must win now.

Pressure is mounting on a predominantly new and young team with many outsiders calling for immediate departure of Arnold Lando, the head coach.

Players confident
Team captain Isaac Afidra believes there will be light at the end of the tunnel and the side must be brave to get out of the current situation.

“We have had our challenges and we must face them,” the forward told Daily Monitor. “For now we have to look at winning the remaining games.” 

Afidra is one of just three survivors from the team that played the 2019 season and is averaging seven points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes.

Nasser Guddi, another survivor, is averaging four points and three rebounds in 12 minutes.

Problems keep coming 
Power started the season short of size in the paint and were totally dominated on the boards in losses to KIU Titans and Ndejje Angels.

The team had signed Saidi Amisi but the big man travelled to Rwanda, reportedly for his second Covid-19 vaccine shot and took a while to return.

He only returned in time for the team’s fifth game of the season, a 70-82 loss to UPDF Tomahawksin which he scored 16 points – not enough to stop the bleeding.

Amisi’s arrival solved part of the problems on the team but the departure of Guthier Badhera to Congo on Friday night left another hole in the team.

The point guard left without communicating and the team relied on Elvis Ssentongo to call the plays on Saturday.
“We sort out the front court then your point guard vanishes on the eve of the game,” Afidra said. 

Brian Sivachi, the team’s third surviving member, is back home in Kenya having lost his dad recently and is not expected back anytime soon. 

This means that Lando has not had the opportunity to use his best side with the inconsistency on the roster.

The team is now said to be counting on Brian Waters to point the ball in the coming games. The point guard was unveiled in 2020 before the season was called off and is now expected to call shots on the floor having joined the team recently. 

Coaching question 
The rebuilding process was never going to be easy but many fans seem to have lost confidence in Lando.
Social media posts point in the direction of calls to have the Kenyan fired with former tactician Bernice Ankunda fronted as the man to steady the ship.

Ankunda, who won the 2011 championship for the club, has on several occasions revealed that he’s not keen on mainstream coaching but his recent comments on social suggest otherwise. 

“It would be a pleasure and honour to accept the challenge to get this great club back to sanity and restore status quo,” he commented on a recent post suggesting his name as replacement for Lando.

However, Power management remain tight-lipped about any developments concerning the coach’s position.

National basketball league 
Angels  44-41 Nkumba
JKL 70-74 Ndejje
Nabisunsa 27-98 KIU 
KIU Titans  85-62 UPDF

Powers last four games 

May 23:    vs.    Nam Blazers
June 3:    vs.    Falcons 
June 5:    vs.    KCCA Panthers
June 6:    vs.    UCU Canons
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