Five-time National Basketball League champions Power has been relegated to Division One following a 61-54 defeat to Livingstone on Sunday afternoon at the YMCA Court in Wandegeya.

Power dropped to a 6-16 record after playing all their regular season game with the disappointing finish sending them down alongside Ndejje University Angels.

It’s a significant downturn for Power, a team with a storied history including five league titles, surpassed only by Falcons (6) – which also plays in Division I – and record winners City Oilers (9).

Power lost the battle to JKL Dolphins (7-14), Livingstone (8-13), and Kampala Rockets (8-13) who flirted with relegation throughout the regular season.

Timothy Odeke’s charges needed a win to keep their chances alive. However, despite leading the first quarter 15-13, Power managed only three points in the second quarter against Livingstone’s 17, trailing 30-18 at halftime and the writing was on the wall.

A spirited effort in the third quarter saw them reduce the deficit before knotting the game at 51-51 midway through the last quarter but Livingstone went on an 8-0 run in the final minutes secured their victory.

Taariq Powell and Geoffrey Soro scored 15 and 13 points respectively and were the only Power players to reach double digits in scoring.

Amara Ariho and Bismarck Okot contributed 16 and 12 points respectively for Livingstone.

Uganda’s National Sevens side completed the first round of the Rugby Africa Sevens tournament in Mauritius unbeaten.

The Rugby Cranes were crowned winners of Round One after beating Madagascar 31-12 in the final played at Labourdonnais Sports Club.

Aaron Ofoywroth opened the scoring for Uganda with a try in the corner and barely a minute later, the Rugby Cranes were over for the second try through Adrian Kasito that Philip Wokorach converted for a 12-00 lead.

However, Tolbert Onyango’s men were caught flat-footed when Madagascar kicked behind the high-line defence and followed through to score.

Ofoywroth had the last say of the first half with his second try of the game to take the lead to 17-05 at the break.

Madagascar had a clean kickoff reclamation to start the second half, scored right under the posts and reduced the gap to 5 (17-12).

Uganda would quickly recover, adding a pair of converted tries through Norbert Okeny and Timothy Kisiga to seal the game 31-12.

The Rugby Cranes are now in prime position heading into the ultimate round next weekend, and the fourth title is on the horizon.

2024 Rugby Africa 7s Standings after Round One (Top 6)

1. Uganda – 20 points
2. Madagascar – 18 points
3. South Africa – 16 points
4. Burkina Faso – 14 points
5. Zimbabwe – 12 points
6. Kenya – 10 points

Walukuba Barbarians sent out a strong message ahead of the National Sevens Series after claiming the Kigezi High Altitude 7s on Saturday.

Kabale Municipal Stadium was the epicentre of thrilling sevens rugby as the 5th edition of the Kigezi High Altitude Rugby 7s as some of the top talent from Uganda and Rwanda competed in the one-day event.

The highlight of the day was the Jinja derby that saw Walukuba Barbarians triumph over the Jinja Hippos in the men’s final with an impressive 22-12 score.

“This victory has come from all our hard work and dedication of every member of our team. We came here with a mission to play our best rugby, and we executed our game plan perfectly,” Barbarians’ captain, Bob Kawanda, said.

In the women’s category, the Thunderbirds emerged as the overall winners, with Angayika Comfort being named the top scorer and MVP.

Teams such as the Kobs, Rhinos, Warriors, Rams, Jinja Hippos, Kigezi Silverbacks, Tooro Lions, Naguru Home Boys, Kigezi Queens, Jaguars, and Lady Swans took part in the tournaament.

Rwanda was represented by the Lions De Fer, 1000 Hills, Rwamagana Hippos (Women), and Kamonyi Panthers (Women), adding an international flair to the competition.

The Kigezi High Altitude Rugby 7s was organized by Rams Rugby Football Club in collaboration with Kigezi Silverbacks RFC and Kigezi Queens.

Uganda Sevens had a flawless start to the 2024 Rugby Africa Cup in Mauritius having won all their three Pool B games at Labourdonnais Sports Club.

The Ugandans recovered from a slow start, twice coming from down to win 22-17 thanks to tries from skipper Munyani, Denis Etwau, Timothy Kisiga and Philip Wokorach.

Uganda returned for the second game with more determination ruthlessly brushing aside Tunisia, 43-00. Nobert Okeny scored a hattrick of tries, Denis Etwau crossed the white chalk twice, while Alex Aturinda and Karim Arinaitwe also grounded for the Rugby Cranes.

Tolbert Onyango’s men beat West Africans Burkina Faso in the ultimate Pool game, 29-00. Timothy Kisiga, Norbert Okeny (brace), Philip Wokorach, and Denis Etwau scored Uganda’s tries.

Action continues on Sunday with the quarterfinals. The opponents will be determined based on the ranking of the 8 qualified teams.

MTN Uganda, in proud partnership with the Busoga Kingdom, earlier today launched the 7th edition of the MTN Busoga Masaza Cup.

The announcement was made at a grand event held at the Busoga Kingdom Hall, with representatives from both MTN Uganda and the Busoga Kingdom in attendance.

This year’s sponsorship package includes both financial and in-kind contributions, underscoring MTN’s dedication to making the MTN Busoga Masaza Cup 2024 bigger and better than ever before. With the launch, MTN Uganda reaffirms its commitment to youth development, sports excellence, and community unity in the Busoga Region.

Denis Harindimana, MTN Uganda’s Eastern Region Head of Marketing, expressed the company’s enthusiasm for the upcoming tournament.

“We as MTN Uganda are proud to be partners with Busoga Kingdom in a number of activities. Above all, we are proud of working with the kingdom in its search for talent identification. We therefore commit ourselves more with a bigger sponsorship package that will make the competition bigger and better this year, given the large crowds that we saw in the last edition,” Harindimana said.

The tournament will officially kick off on August 3, 2024, with an opening match between Bugweri and the defending champions Busiki at the Bugweri District Headquarters playground.

The groupings for this year’s competition were meticulously drawn during a meeting held at the Busoga Kingdom headquarters, attended by team chairmen and CEOs.

The groups are as follows:

• Nendha: Busiki, Budiope, Bulamogi, Bugweri
• Mawembe: Bugabula, Bunhole Bunanumba, Bokono
• Bukowe: Kigulu, Bunha, Bukooli Bugiri, Luuka
• Kagulu: Butembe, Buzaya, Bukooli Namayingo

Quarterfinal Matchups

• Winner Nendha vs Runners-up Mawembe
• Winner Mawembe vs Runners-up Nendha
• Winner Bukowe vs Runners-up Kagulu
• Winner Kagulu vs Runners-up Bukowe

The winners will then advance to the semi-finals and ultimately, the final match, where the champions of the 7th edition will be crowned.

This year, the cash prizes have been increased to motivate and reward the top-performing teams. The winning team will receive UGX 13 million, the second place UGX 9 million, third place UGX 6 million, and fourth place UGX 4 million.

The Chief Guest, Osman Noor Ahmed, the Second Deputy Minister in Obwakyabazinga bwa Busoga, commended the discipline observed in the previous edition, which contributed to the continued sponsorship.

“The Busoga Masaza Cup football tournament cannot take its due course without our sponsors, MTN Uganda. It is through the discipline from the last edition and the large crowds that our sponsors continue their support. Therefore, let’s maintain total discipline so that such tournaments can continuously be sponsored,” Noor Ahmed said.

Day Two Fixtures (August 10)

• Bukono vs Bugabula
• Luuka vs Kigulu
• Bukooli Namayingo vs Butembe

KIU Rangers avenged the first-round defeat to KCCA Leopards by picking a 78-56 win on Friday night to split the regular season series.

The Rangers started the game with intent, taking the opening quarter 26-15 as they got contributions from all over the floor. Stella Nanfuka, Rachael Nanyonga as well as usual suspects Rose Amaniyo, Ines Kanyamunza, and Sharon Kirabo all contributed in the high-scoring quarter.

KCCA tried to fight back early in the second quarter and cut the deficit to 6 points but once the Rangers got going again, the Leopards (15-6) were all but out of the contest as they were limited to just 9 points in the third quarter.

Amaniyo scored a game-high 19 points and picked 12 rebounds to lead Rangers (15-3), Kanyaamunza added 16 points and dished out 7 assists while Fildauce Namulema contributed 12 points.

Maggie Bagala scored 15 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in a nearly lone fight for KCCA. Perus Nyamwenge, the other KCCA player to score in double figures had 10 points.

Uganda basketball star Arthur Kaluma will be playing at the University of Texas for the final year of his College career.

The Silverbacks wing joins the Longhorns after a solid season with Kansas State University.

Kaluma had declared for the just concluded 2024 NBA Draft but later withdrew his name and opted to continue in the NCAA.

welcome to The Forty Acres, @___kingart 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/wg795NTFQB

— Texas Men’s Basketball (@TexasMBB) June 28, 2024

The power forward averaged 14 points a game during the season. He was named the BIG 12 Conference Player of the Week in December 2023 and also twice received the Newcomer of the Week honours early this year.

It should be noted that Kaluma played the first two years of his college career at Creighton where he played at the National Tournament both years before transferring to Kansas State last year.

Despite losing three important pieces since their return from the Basketball Africa League, City Oilers have continued to show that they are still the team to beat in the National Basketball League.

The Oilers followed their win over Nam Blazers last weekend with another huge win, this time beating KIU Titans.

City Oilers beat KIU Titans 71-43 on Friday night at the Lugogo Indoor Arena.

The Oilers set the tone early taking a commanding 25-7 lead by the end of the first quarter, a gap KIU Titans could not close throughout the game. The nine-time champions also out-rebounded KIU 61-38.

Moses Maker scored a game-high 15 points to lead the Oilers. Ben Komakech and Titus Lual contributed 12 points each, with Lual also securing 19 rebounds to complete a double-double.

Juf Mpiya notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds for KIU while Edgar Munaaba, the only other Titans player to score in double digits, had 10.

Our Savior completed their National Basketball League regular season schedule with a well-deserved 80-61 victory over the KCCA Panthers on Wednesday night at Lugogo.

The game saw Our Savior take an early lead, capping the opening quarter 23-13 ahead and by halftime, Moses Okwera’s charges had a solid 9-point advantage.

In the second half, Our Savior outscored the Panthers 43-33, securing their victory.

The Panthers struggled to find their shot, missing 20 out of 23 three-point attempts from downtown, and were out-rebounded 52-44.

Only Aaron Trevour Ojoo (13 points) and Caesar Kizito (10 points) managed to score in double figures for KCCA.

Meanwhile, Our Savior’s Moses Mugisha led the charge with a game-high 17 points with Henry Ssebagala and Moses Maker contributing 14 and 13 points respectively.

This win brings Our Savior’s season record to 11 wins and 11 losses while KCCA Panthers finish with 12 wins and 10 losses.

Our Saviour and KCCA currently stand 5th and 4th in the league respectively, though these positions may shift as sixth-placed UCU Canons still have two games to complete their regular season schedule.

Uganda Rugby Cranes XVs team heads to Pretoria, South Africa for a training camp that includes a series of trial matches in preparation for the upcoming 2024 Rugby Africa Cup.

The Uganda Rugby Union (URU) received an invitation from Harlequins Rugby Club, a member club of the Blue Bulls Rugby Union (BBRU), under the Memorandum of Understanding signed between URU and BBRU for a Tour of South Africa to play 3 test games.

• 29th June 2024 vs Limpopo Country Districts XV in Modimolle (Nylstroom H/S)
• 2nd July 2024 vs Supa Barbarians in Johannesburg (Pirates Rugby Club)
• 5th July 2024 vs Loftus 200 in Pretoria (Harlequin Rugby Club)

The team was flagged off on Wednesday at the National Council of Sports and the contingent of 36 consists of 29 players.

Uganda’s Contingent