Opening National Basketball League second round fixtures
Friday at YMCA
Women: JKL Lady Dolphins vs. KCCA Leopards
Men: Betway Power vs. Pemba Warriors
The full National Basketball League second round fixtures are expected to be officially released on Wednesday by the competition arm of the game's domestic governing body Fuba.
As the 12 teams await the full schedule, those that will compete in Friday's opening game are already preparing for tip off. That will pit the two most supported clubs with Betway Power up against rivals Pemba Warriors at YMCA court on Friday evening. Despite only suffering two losses in the first round, Betway Power coach Arnold "Mchuda" Lando is keen on his team further improving that record as they seek to break City Oilers stronghold on the national championship. "We had a good first round but we suffered two defeats that were very much avoidable. When the second round starts we will be trying to improve by avoiding similar scenarios. We want to avoid further losses," Mchuda said of the two losses suffered against Friday's opponents Warriors and the surprise reverse against UPDF.
Against UPDF, Mchuda blamed the loss on complacency by the players in the lead up to the game while the team was unable to prepare in the best possible way after Paul Mwaka one of the team's longest serving players, lost his parent as they were due to play Warriors. This meant that Power who are seeking a record equaling sixth national title finished with a second league best 9-2 record behind Warriors at 10-1. The second round however starts after only a 10-day break with Fuba keen on avoiding a fixture pileup because of the national men's team, Silver back's involvement in next month's Afrobasket Championships due in Senegal and Tunisia.
The league is also expected to be interrupted at the start of October when the country hosts the Zone V Basketball Club championship where City Oilers and Betway Power as well as KCCA Leopards and UCU Lady Canons will take part.