Uganda Ladies Amateur Golf Open champion Irene Nakalembe has turned professional.

Namuwongo Blazers have revealed their roster as the 2022 National Basketball League nears the start.

The roster comprises four new signings in former Power captain Joseph Ikong, Amisi Saidi Danny, as well as Collins Kasujja, and Richard Ongom who join from KIU Titans and KCCA respectively.

Meanwhile, the club recently released five players – Geoffrey Soro, Chris Omanye, Emmanuel Okumu, Julius Lutwama, Francis Azolibe, and Stephen Otoa.

At the time last season was put on hold and later cancelled, the Blazers were 3rd (5-2). The side will be trying to challenge the status quo in their second season in top-flight when the season tips off on 11th March 2022.

Nam Blazers Roster

Paul Odong, Daniel Juuko, Amisi Saidi, David Deng, Daniel Monoja, Chuol Nyuot, Blair Valentine, Syrus Kiviiri, Joseph Ikong, Collins Kasujja, Richard Ongom, Kenneth Mesho

Ponsiano Lwakataka clinched the 2022 National Rally Championship (NRC) season-opening event in Mbarara to launch his title bid.

Despite a challenging start, Lwakataka driving a Subaru Impreza with Paul Musaazi calling the notes was two minutes behind Arthur Blick at the end of leg one.

However, his rivals  Arthur Blick Jr, Ronald Sebuguzi, and reigning NRC champion Duncan Mubiru dropped off and Lwakataka was the last man standing, scooping five of the eight stages to register the first victory of the season.

“The event didn’t start well for us. We had a mechanical problem at the beginning of the first stage. Luckily we got to the service and the mechanics did a great job to get us back for day two.

“Blick proved to be my only challenger for the victory, unfortunately, he dropped out and I couldn’t have a fight with him as I wanted.

“I am here to win a title. Since all my two times come from the old regime, I need a title with the current gem of drivers and prove to them that I still have the gas,” said Lwakataka.

The second round of the NRC is scheduled for 11th-13th March in Jinja.

The Singleton Golf Challenge returns this weekend with Season Six tee-off scheduled for Saturday, 22nd January at Entebbe Golf Club.

The tournament expected to attract over 228 players makes a return after Season Five was not played to completion due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This year’s edition starts with the qualification round and only 64 pairs will be selected for Round One which will get underway on 12th February 2022.

The tournament whose Grandfinale will be held in July was started in 2017 and has been a success with a mix of competitive golf and fun-filled 19th hole experiences.

Quick Notes

• The top 64 pairs from the Qualification Round will make the cut.
• Only players who are fully paid-up members of their respective clubs are eligible to play in the Challenge
• The six-month long tournament will be held in a series of knock-out tournaments that will be held every second Saturday of the month.
• The winning pairs from every month will advance to the finale in June.

Revival of bicycle racing competitions in Buganda is underway as MTN Uganda in partnership with Buganda-owned television; BBS Terefayina launched the ‘Kengere ya BBS ne MTN’ Bicycle Challenge.

The event is scheduled for 5th and 6th February 2022 having failed to take place last year due to Covid-19.

Coined ‘Kengere ya BBS ne MTN’, the bicycle racing competition which will be broadcast live on BBS Terefayina, will encompass all the 18 counties (Masaza) of Buganda with the goal of promoting unity and strengthening culture in the kingdom.

The competition will draw participation of representatives from all the 18 counties of Buganda who gather in Buddu where the challenge will take place.

Each county (Ssaza) team will be selected by the cycling committee in consultation with the respective county sports committees from the various local competitions they organize.

Speaking during the launch held at the BBS Terefayina studios in Bulange Mengo, Ronald Muwaya the MTN Uganda Trade Marketing Coordinator said that MTN Uganda is honoured to be involved in such a noble cause for it ties in directly with the telecom’s business pillar of togetherness.

“At MTN, we believe that the community is the bedrock of success in any society, hence our dedication to drive shared growth, unity and prosperity in all our partnerships. Today is no different. Kengere ya BBS ne MTN seeks to cultivate socio-economic development and transformation amongst the people of Buganda,” he said.

‘Kengere ya BBS ne MTN’ was earlier launched in May 2021 in commemoration of the five-year existence of BBS Terefayina, however, the competition was affected by the emergence of the Delta variant of the coronavirus which pushed the country into lockdown.

The Ppokino of Buddu, Owek. Jude Muleke lauded MTN’s efforts in strengthening relationships with the communities in which it operates noting that the bicycle challenge will bear fruit in breeding unity in the different counties of Buganda.

“For more than five years now, BBS Terefayina continues to provide quality services thanks in part to partnerships such as this one with MTN, which hinges on spurring socio-economic growth of the community. Through this partnership, we hope to entrench cultural roots in the people of Buganda to ensure fortitude of the kingdom,” he noted.

Previously held and relished as a social event in Buganda Kingdom, Bicycling commonly referred to as Obugaali became obsolete and was only revived in November 2020, following the creation of the Buganda Cycling Committee.

According to the Ppokino, ‘Kengere ya BBS ne MTN’ challenge is a step in the right direction towards reviving the once vibrant sport in the kingdom.

Besides being a socially entertaining sport, cycling confers unique health benefits like improved strength, balance, and coordination, making it a great sport. The rules and regulations governing the ‘Kengere ya BBS ne MTN’ Bicycle Challenge will be released ahead of the event.

World Netball (WN) has released the latest World Rankings which reflect matches played from 31^st March 2021 up to 5^th December 2021.

It’s been a busy period for netball and exciting for so many teams to return to the court following the extended period of lock-downs due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The latest update sees no change to the top five positions of the top five teams with Australia retaining 1st place, New Zealand in 2nd, England in 3rd, Jamaica in 4th, and South Africa in 5th place.

The first ranking change can be seen in 6th place, where Uganda She Cranes Pent Series victory and successful campaign at the Africa Netball Cup where they came second to South Africa.

The success at the two tournaments increased Uganda’s rating by four to 126 allowing them to move into sixth place replacing Malawi, who moved down to 7th with a rating of 125. 

She Cranes beat Malawi at the Pent Series 59-43 before drawing 44-all at the Africa Netball Championship.

Our Saviour are the Division One champions! Our Savior edged Tropical Royals 68-67 in an entertaining Game 3 at Nakasero Primary School on Sunday to win this year’s Division One title.

By qualifying for the playoff finals, the two sides had already attained promotion to the National Basketball League (NBL).

In the finals series, Our Saviour won the series-opening game 65-60 but the Royals were level on Saturday thanks to a 73-67 win in Game 2 to force a decider.

In the winner take all game, Our Savior started stronger taking the opening quarter 22-12 but the Royals responded with a 23-15 second quarter.

It was a close affair the rest of the game until the final buzzer.

With the game tied 66-66 with about 30 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, Our Saviour’s Andrew Sendaula sent Tropical Royals’ Allan Nandala to the line and he netted one of his two free throws to hand the Royals a slender 67-66 lead.

Donald Bakara laid up at the opposite end with 20 seconds on the clock but missed the free thrown before Nandala missed a would-be game-winning 3-pointer as Our Saviour went into celebrations.

Moses Mugisha led the way for Our Savior with a 26 points and 12 rebounds double-double with Davis Asiimwe and Elton Dalton Bakama contributing 13 and 11 points respectively.

Nandala and Edgar Osiapie scored 16 and 14 points respectively for the Royals.

Tropical Royals earned promotion to the National Basketball League next season after completing the sweep of Kampala Rockets in the Division One playoff Semifinals on Sunday.

The Royals won game two of the series 64-55 at YMCA to follow the 76-59 game one win on Saturday at Nakasero.

Tropical Royals set the pace to lead 26-18 after the first quarter and never looked back on the largely disorganized Rockets.

Juma Osman led the way with 27 points, Joshua Duallo Joshua had 7 points and 10 rebounds for the Royals.

Kur Garang and Cyril Mpungu had 18 and 13 points respectively for Kampala Rockets.

Brian Rugyendo’s charges will face the winner between Rez Life Saints and Our Savior in the Playoff finals.

The Saints and Our Savior are tied on 1-1 following the latter’s spirited 66-62 win in overtime on Sunday.

The winner of Game 3 scheduled for Saturday will also get promoted to the NBL.

Division One Playoff Semifinals

Saturday

• Tropical Royals 76-59 Kampala Rockets
• Our Saviour 54-60 Rezlife

Sunday

• Kampala Rockets 55-64 Tropical Royals
• Rez Life Saints 62-66 Our Saviour (OT)

Arthur Kaluma was near perfect from the floor as Creighton men’s basketball team coasted to an 80-55 win over North Dakota State on Tuesday, November 30.

Kaluma started the game and played 21 minutes in the win lifted Creighton to 7-1 on the season, while North Dakota State fell to 4-3 overall.

The Bluejays of Creighton used their athleticism and defense to force eight Bison turnovers in the opening eight minutes.

Creighton’s offense proved equally impressive as nine different Bluejays scored as the side built a 20-12 edge midway through the opening half.

North Dakota State found its footing, trimming Creighton’s advantage to just 2 (27-25) with 4:37 play in the half. However, a pair of free throws from Ryan Kalkbrenner and two jumpers in the paint by freshman Ryan Nembhard delivered a quick response to push the lead back to eight (33-25) with 3:24 and the Bluejays maintained that lead into the break, taking a 40-32 edge into the locker room at the half.

With a 10-0 run to start the second half, the Bluejays never looked back.

Kalkbrenner’s 17 points led all scorers. Three other Bluejays reached double-figures with Ugandan power forward Kaluma finishing with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and 1-of-1 from the line. Nembhard as well Alex O’Connell closed with 10  points each.

North Dakota State got a team-high 13 points from Dezmond McKinney in the loss, while Rocky Kreuser finished with 12 points.

Creighton returns to the floor on Saturday, 4th December as the Bluejays host No. 19 Iowa State at CHI Health Center Omaha.

Uganda’s silverbacks fell to D’Tigers of Nigeria in the last game of the first window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifiers in Benguela, Angola.

The Silverbacks went into the clash on the back of a 77-74 win over Cape Verde the previous day.

Despite going neck to neck with the top-ranked D’Tigers early in the game, Nigeria started to pull away after the halfway mark of the second quarter and Uganda never recovered.

Veteran big man Ike Diogu played with a hot hand and troubled Uganda from the onset. Diogu shot 6-for-7 from deep, tallied game-high 27 points, and picked 10 rebounds. Keith Omoerah and Jordan Omotayo added 11 points each for Nigeria.

Despite creating many wide-open shots, Silverbacks connected on just 6 of their 40 three-point shots.

Brandon Davies had a team-high 22 points while Jimmy Enabu and Eric Rwahwire added 12 and 10 points respectively in a losing effort.

Uganda, now third in the group with 4 points, will seek to make amends in the second window in July next year at a yet to be confirmed venue.

The group remains wide open ahead of the second leg.

Group A Standings

1. Nigeria – 5pts
2. Mali – 5pts
3. Uganda – 4pts
4. Cape Verde – 4pts