UPDF Lady Tomahawks enjoying best basketball season
The regular season of the National Basketball League 2026 ends this Sunday, June 14. There is normally a lot of excitement, when the playoff season is drawing nigh for many in the basketball fraternity. Yet, there still remains some unresolved matters of final standings, and who staves off relegation. For the men, Kampala Rockets have […] The post UPDF Lady Tomahawks enjoying best basketball season appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.
Black News 
The regular season of the National Basketball League 2026 ends this Sunday, June 14.
There is normally a lot of excitement, when the playoff season is drawing nigh for many in the basketball fraternity.
Yet, there still remains some unresolved matters of final standings, and who staves off relegation. For the men, Kampala Rockets have been relegated. But it is still pending on who joins them as the second men’s team to be relegated. UPDF Tomahawks and the Uganda Martyrs University (UMU) Flames are in a win or bust situation.
On the other hand, in the women’s top-flight, Angels and Nabisunsa have already been relegated. However, while the UPDF Tomahawks continue to live on a knife-edge, considering they face a tough opponent in the Victoria University Crocs, the Flames face a tricky opponent in the JT Jaguars.
Yet, for the sister club of UPDF, the Lady Tomahawks, they have enjoyed the season with such great displays this year. Moses Muhumuza, the assistant coach of the Lady Tomahawks said that the work put in by the girls this year has been tremendous.
Presently, they are on a run of four successive wins, which has not only ensured that they earn a lot of game winning bonus from the league sponsors Betpawa, who reward every member of a winning team Shs 130,000 per win.
They hope to wind up the season with another jackpot, when they face the Victoria She Crocs on Sunday.
Following what was a routine win over the Angels recently, one of the Lady Tomahawks’ players, Fauzia Namasaba said: “Our desire to win has been growing by the day. That has pushed us on to keep the momentum. We hope we can go very far even in the playoffs.”
There is probably no better time for the Lady Tomahawks to be upbeat about the post-season as now.
Last year, they finished at number eight in the regular season. Inevitably, they turned out to be easy opposition for the eventual champions, JKL Lady Dolphins in the quarterfinals, after they brushed them aside 2-0 in the best of three series.
But this year, the Lady Tomahawks have beaten JKL in the league, something they had never done before. And because of that, now find themselves in a better position. They are likely to finish fourth, fifth or sixth on the 12-team log.
The ball is in their hands to determine their destiny. Yet, more significantly, they are expected to prove a big problem to whoever they are matched up with in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, much of this improvement can be attributed to how key players like Stella Maris Lunkuse have worked on their game Lunkuse has not just become a mainstay in the team, but she has added a variation to her game.
Lunkuse’s shooting has become better, placing her at an average of 10.3 points per game. This has made her a key figure in the team. But even beyond that, the coaches have ensured that the team’s approach play is a lot more structured this season than it was before.
Their defending, built around better rebounding has been a success. They have had the fourth best defence. Some observers insist that UPDF has shown good ambition this season.
The addition of quality in the shape of Ruth Letaru, the guard from JKL elevated their game. Against the Miracle Eaglets over the weekend, Letaru scored 16 points. But her average of 10 points per game this season, has been a huge lift to their offence.
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The post UPDF Lady Tomahawks enjoying best basketball season appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.
