Power have lease of life
Power coach Timothy Odeke could again be leading his team in the top tier. PHOTO/JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
Rockets, who finished eighth in the table at the end of the regular season and were swept by City Oilers in the quarterfinals, were one of three teams under investigation for breaking the rule.
Dmark Power’s stay in the National Basketball League could be reinstated following cases of irregular use of foreign players by Kampala Rockets.
Rockets, who finished eighth in the table at the end of the regular season and were swept by City Oilers in the quarterfinals, were one of three teams under investigation for breaking the rule.
RexLife Saints and Entebbe Archers from Division One are the other teams.
Fuba competition rules limit the number of foreign players per match day to four, but on several occasions, the Rockets had more than the expected number.
“The Competitions Council (CC) conducted investigations into the alleged use of over the limit number of foreign players permitted on game day, by these Three (3) Basketball clubs,” part of a statement released by Fuba on October 2, reads.
Article II, section 2.01of the FUBA Rules and Regulations 2024, stipulates that on game day, a club/team shall register and utilize a maximum of only four (4) foreign players. All clubs are responsible for providing accurate information on their player nationalities to the federation.
“After Investigations, based on game day Score Sheets which are the FIBA / FUBA official and primary source document used in all cases related to games, the Competition Council in its Report found that Kampala Rockets, RezLife Saints and Entebbe Archers violated the foreign player rule by using more than four (4) foreign players in six (6), nine (9) and five (5) games respectively.”
The three teams have each been fined $300 or its equivalent in Uganda shillings.
“Kampala Rockets, RezLife Saints and Entebbe Archers teams automatically lose all points for the particular games where they used more than four (4) foreign players and the subsequent game against the same team, should this infringement have happened in the 1st round.”
Power safe
With the decision, five-time league champions Power have an opportunity to escape relegation. The Rockets are set to lose points from six games and that would automatically send them to the lower division.
Power lost 61-52 to Livingstone on June 20, 2024 to confirm that their time in the top flight was up but the new development will bring a smile to every fan.
It is, however, far from over, with the Rockets already appealing the decision.
