A total of 24 schools in each gender took part in Badminton.The games took place in Mbale SS’ main hall for 5 days.
Kibuli SS were the champions in the boys category while Mbogo High were the golden girls.
In the Badminton Boys final that concluded the USSSA BALL GAME I COMPETITIONS reigning undefeated champion Kibuli SS went aganist the gradually rising stars Kinaawa High School Kawempe in a grueling encounter that ended 3-0 in favor of Kibuli, it retained their title.
Match Highlights
The first set saw Kibuli SS number one seed Mukasa Dennis go up against Kinaawa’s Frederick Kadoli, Dennis plays a controlled attack game and his opponet plays a fast paced attack game this made their entire encounter electrifying as they both powered through the game with smashes, strong drives and entertaining rallies and this made the match one for the books as it had a scoreline of 21:17 – 22 – 20 in favor of Dennis
The second seeds were next to step into the limelight. Kibuli team captain Akbar Nooh Oduka was to go up against fellow captain Najimu Mboowa the game started off easy for Akbar but as the game progressed Mboowa found his footing which gave the audience another thrilling battle that had Akbar’s raw strength and power tested by Mboowa’s court awareness and net prowess this game had score line of 21:5 – 19:21 – 21:23
The game was now 2-0 Kibuli just need one more set for the win and Kinaawa needed only set to go into doubles in order to contend for what would have been their first ever USSSA National School’s Championship this meant both teams had to play their trump card this was in Kibuli’s Kibirige Arafat Tendo and Kinaawa’s Agaba Bruno this game was to be a tough one due to the similarity in the play style as they are both control players this means they make most of their points off of their opponents mistakes and make most of their own points off the net however this time Arafat had come with a change in strategy as after losing the first two points he pulled an ace out his sleeve and switch to attack a smashed his way through Bruno this made the first set easy but Bruno adapted till he dragged up a third set that was however dominated by Arafat due to his stronger mentality compared to his opponet the scoreline was 21:6 – 21:23 – 21:16
Post Match Comments
“We played the best games we have ever played since we first started our escaped to vie for the number one slot in the Badminton world. We lost but the pressure we exerted was immensely felt next time they will not be so lucky until FEASSA its back to the drawing board” said Captain Najimu Mboowa
“We never play to lose our opposition has showed us the holes in our defenses, they have made great leaps in their efforts to dethrone us and even with all the pressure they must surely feel they have exerted upon us our heads remain unbowed, we are Kings after all”
Coach Muguluma Joshua of Kibuli SS said “I expected the win as I put my boys to very strict conditioning and if they were to performe otherwise I would see that coming to. FEASSA will be a similar story all we have to do is patch up our defenses a little bit and it will be smooth sailing”
“Contenders, competition, worthy opponents that is what we are now, we are underdogs no longer we have put pressure on the giant and he may not have fallen today but time will tell how long that remains a fact FEASSA is just a few short months after all” said Coach Frank Muwuluzi Of Kinaawa High School Kawempe.
The girls’ final was also an exhilarating one as it saw Mbogo High School go up against rivals Rubaga Girls in a hard fought match that however ended 3-0 but this victory was bittersweet as Mbogo came so close to losing it all on this occasion