Nyeko hails Nam Blazers’ Elite 16 qualification, calls for early preparations

Namuwongo Blazers head coach Steven Escotada Nyeko has described the team’s Road to BAL campaign as a success despite falling short of their target to finish top of Group D.

The Blazers secured qualification for the Elite 16 after winning three of their four games at the East Division qualifiers held at Hoima City Arena, although their 81-79 defeat to Burundi’s Urunani on Sunday denied them top spot in the group.

Nyeko said the team had set two objectives before the tournament, with qualification being the more significant achievement.

“I would assess the tournament as a success. We had two goals. One was to finish on top of the group and the other was to qualify. I am happy to say that we achieved one of those by qualifying for the Elite 16,” he said.

Despite the positive outcome, the coach believes the team must address defensive lapses ahead of the next stage of the competition.

Nyeko pointed to poor transition defence and moments of complacency as areas that exposed the NBL champions against quality opposition.

“Basketball is a game of fine margins. When facing good teams, it’s easy to get punished whenever you are lazy on your defence. I do think that we need to pick it out because each time we relaxed, we were punished,” he added.

He also highlighted the team’s struggles when defending in transition and suggested that physical fatigue affected their ability to maintain intensity throughout games.

“We were extremely poor on transitional defence, and whenever we played a zone, we got some good things. Our legs were not enough to get us going,” Nyeko noted.

With the Elite 16 scheduled for Nairobi next month, the coach has urged the club’s management to begin preparations early, particularly in recruitment, to give the technical team enough time to build chemistry within the squad.

The Blazers made an early start to their preparations for the East Division qualifiers, and Nyeko believes maintaining that approach will be crucial as they seek to compete against stronger opposition in the next round.

“It has been a success because we started the preparations much earlier. So, as management, we need to get quickly to the drawing board and make early changes and recruitment so that we give the coach ample time to work on the team’s chemistry,” he said.

Namuwongo Blazers will now turn their attention to the Elite 16, where they will seek to build on their qualification and move closer to securing a place in the Basketball Africa League (BAL).

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