Nemostars eye continent again

Nine years later, Nemostars are National Clubs Championship winners again. The Kololo-based side ran over rivals Sport-S 3-1 in the final at the Old Kampala Arena to remind themselves of how it feels to win the biggest tournament on the Uganda Volleyball Federation calendar.

Having last won the tournament in 2015, Nemostars played a near-perfect match against the most on-form team in the country to roll back the years.

The final, rescheduled from the previous weekend due to poor lighting at Ndejje University in Luwero, was highly-anticipated, with Nemostars looking to avenge their 3-0 loss to Sport-S in the group phase.

Sport-S had made light work of Nemostars to top Pool A but when it mattered most, it was the six-time league champions who did enough to grab the trophy and qualify for next year’s CAVB Africa Clubs Championship.

Riding on the experienced team captain George Aporu, Smith Okumu and middle blocker Bernard Malinga, Nemostars got out of the blocks early to clinch the first two sets 25-20 and 25-19 to leave Sport-S in a spot of bother.

The league champions, who were looking to win the trophy for a fourth straight time, responded by taking the third frame 25-19 to restore hope but Nemostars closed the game in the fourth (25-19) to send their fans into wild celebrations.

Youngster Esau Ecil and Ivan Ongom found gaps to exploit in Sport-S net defence and delivered for Nemostars. 

Nemostars’ serve and net defence made life hard for Sport-S on the day. And to make matters worse for last year’s winners, setter Moses Odeke was sidelined with illness, forcing veteran Warren Muhangi to switch from the touchline and back to the court.

Odeke, one of the Sport-S’ most on-form players, was clearly missed. The team switched from Julius Nuwahereza to Muhangi but with little success as Nemostars ran away with the game.

“They (Sport-S) 3-0 in the group match but we had a whole week of training and analysing what went wrong for us,” Amou told Daily Monitor after the final.

“When we went back for training, I told the boys we needed to block. The other weekend, our blocks were so porous but here every time we blocked well it was easy for us to cover,” he added.

Having last played at the Africa Clubs Championship in 2021, Nemostars have earned a ticket to return to the big stage. And both head coach Amou and setter Okumu cannot wait for that time to come.

“This (winning) means a lot to us. Because we have won here, without doubt, we are going to go back to represent Uganda in the African championship. That’s where we always want to be,” he added.

In the women’s category, KCB-Nkumba defeated KCCA 3-1 to complete the league and cup double. KCCA had defeated Sport-S Ladies in the semifinal before falling to Tonny Lakony’s charges.

National Clubs Championship

Finals

Women

KCB-Nkumba 3-1 KCCA 

Men

Nemostars 3-1 Sport-S