On Friday, the famous basketball competition that is always played before the National Basketball League starts came to an end, Team Iman left the Lugogo Hockey Grounds with all the bragging rights after pipping Team Ekon at the buzzer in the Friday Night Lights Season IX (FNL9) finals on January 05, 2024.
Ritah Imanishibwe and Brenda Ekon whose teams both reachedb the finals are players of JKL Lady Dolphins and the women basketball national team called the Gazelles.
The final score read 33-31 in favor of Iman but who was keeping count? For FNL has over the last
decade positioned itself as Uganda’s premiere sports-meets-showbiz event, offering a unique
blend of music, food and beverages with the basketball action only serving as a side dish of sorts.
It is why the organizers always encourage the players to employ an easygoing approach on court;
with the participating teams expected to field a blend of league players, fans and celebrities in
their lineups.
It is fitting therefore that it was a fan that scored the buzzer-beater for Iman. “It was an honor to be considered a captain in FNL9. Winning it all left us super proud; especially seeing that the winning basket came from a fan,” said Ritah Imanishiwe, Team Iman captain.
While it was the Mpele hit-maker Crysto Panda and BigTril stealing the show in the second leg on December 22, 2023, this time around it was arguably Uganda’s greatest of all time (G.O.A.T) artiste, Jose Chameleone attracting the loudest cheers from the fans.
The only disappointment was his reluctance to sweat it out on the court, preferring to remain
seated in the VIP section alongside Uganda Boxing Federation (UBF) boss, Moses Muhangi and
Grace Namutebi, Brand Manager, Crown Beverages.
It was left to former Galaxy fm’s Morniga Saga presenter Mr Mosh (also known as Ssendi Mosh Afrikan, at least to the Makindye East III residents who he represents as Lord Councilor in the KCCA Council) to roll back the years on the mic with a patois-infused dancehall freestyle and a sample of the Ngoni classic ‘Digi’, a song he featured on around 2005, as he led out Team Comfort onto the court.
Nutty Neithen, who suited up for Team Afande and Nina Roz, were the other notable entertainers in
attendance.
Castle Lite beer the headline sponsor under its new Unlock, Refresh and Enjoy tagline was heavily
discounted, with a bucket containing five (5) bottles going for UGX 15,000 while a single bottle cost
only UGX 3,500.
Joel Galla, Brand Manager, Castle Lite said, “Castle Lite is about unlocking new frontiers of
entertainment and spaces where people can get to enjoy themselves in cool and refreshing ways
and FNL is the perfect fit as was evidenced at the finale.”
National Council of Sports (NCS) Chairperson as well as former Federation of Uganda Basketball Associations (FUBA) Ambrose Tashobya and General Secretary, Bernard Ogwel were on hand to hand out some of the prizes to the winners.
With the last game, ending after 1:00am, the awards ceremony was postponed to a later date.
The schedule for Season X which will take place later in 2024 and dates will be announced soon.
All the eight (8) teams played their last group games before the finals. Team Wazee picked up its
first win beating Team Afande on the back of former Oilers big, Francis Azolibe’s strong showing.
Both Team Iman and Team Ekon registered 3 out of 3 wins in Pool B and Pool A respectively which
propelled them to the finals as group winners.
The Teams that took part include;
- Team Iman – Ritah Imanishiwe
- Team Ekon – Brenda Ekone
- Team Melo – Saidi “Carmelo” Amisi
- Team Afande – Henry Okoth
- Team Comfort – Leticia Comfort Awor
- Team Drileba – Tony Drileba
- Team Soro – Godfrey Soro
- Team Wazee – Assorted ex-players, fans
