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KCB-Nkumba want to improve after poor start
KCB-Nkumba have it all to do. PHOTO/EMANZI NDYAMUHAKI
What you need to know:
VVC and KAVC are the first opponents and going by the current standings, that should be a good run of games from which to collect maximum points.
It is 6pm and KCB-Nkumba players are going through their paces under the watchful eye of head coach Tonny Lakony at the International School of Uganda indoor facility in Lubowa.
It is Tuesday evening and time is running out as the second round of the National Volleyball League draws ever closer.
Improving from fifth place into the top four is the target and that will only come with a better return of results in the second stanza of the regular season.
VVC and KAVC are the first opponents and going by the current standings, that should be a good run of games from which to collect maximum points.
But there will be no easy game, according to Lakony.
“We don’t expect any easy games in the second round,” he said.
“At this point every team is fighting for something; whether it is to make the playoffs or avoid relegation,” he added.
The seven-time champions struggled to impress against the top four teams as they registered a 3-4 record after the first seven games.
On 10 points, the 2019 winners are four points behind newly promoted OBB, who sit fourth and eight points off the top of the table.
Wins over VVC, KAVC and Espoir were not enough to push Nkumba into the top four and that will only happen by getting some important wins over the teams above them on the log.
The Entebbe side missed the playoffs by two points last season and will be hoping to sneak in this time round.
The return of Habiba Namala and Flavia Nandawula, who were both part of the last side to win the league in 2019, did add experience to the side but results are still hard to come by for Nkumba.
Table leaders Sport-S, Ndejje Elites, KCCA and OBB have all proven hard nuts to crack for Lakony and his charges but it is the only way up the table.
“We have tried to prepare and I trust results will get better in the second round,” Lakony promised.
Having taken a break in December, the volleyball league returns this weekend. Nkumba will, however, get their second round underway on January 22nd.
KCB-Nkumba
Titles: Seven
Last title: 2019
Last season: Fifth
Current position: Fifth
League record: 3-4
