Congolese torment UPDF: Division One

UPDF Tomahawks was humiliated after being defeated and swept 3-0 by Rezlife Saints in the Semi-Finals of the FUBA Division One Playoffs.

Avitus Ngabirano

January 18, 2025

3–4 minutes

FUBA Division 1, Rezlife Saints, UPDF Tomahawks

UPDF left Uganda for Congo to look for terrorists but they forgot to leave enough reinforcements at home for new ones who would pop out.

For 5 games this season, some Congolese have been terrorizing the UPDF Tomahawks, and they are the main reasons why the Tomahawks went 0-5 against Rezlife Saints, including a clean sweep in the Semi-Finals.

If you’re a patriotic Ugandan, you can have a moment of silence because What in the humiliation was that?

But then again, the Ugandan basketball faithful saw it coming. However embarrassing it looks, it was in many ways anticipated, and wherever Cranmer is, man must be beaming with joy.

In case you’re wondering which Congolese I am talking about, worry not, I got you.

Richard Anyunva has been a thorn in the flesh of the Tomahawks. Despite not playing much throughout the season, whenever he saw the UPDF game on the card, the man decided to turn into a Congolese version of Michael Jordan and take over the game.

Despite being so young and not being perceived as a big threat, the man just decided to turn up against the Army side as though he had a grudge against them.

In the Semi-Finals game 3, he finished with a double-double, 18 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

In game 2, he came off the bench and dropped 12 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 assist in 18 minutes.

In game 1, he made that alley-oop dunk that disorganized the Tomahawks and refueled the Rezlife Saints, eventually completing a 15-point comeback.

He finished with 16 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, steal and block each.

His other counterpart was Leonardo Gilabi, who put the icing on the cake in game 3 with 14 points (6 in the fourth), 7 rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block each.

Gilabi had his most productive performance in the series in game 2 as he finished with 14 points, 7/11, 63% FG, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist, and 1 steal in 23 minutes.

In game one, he had 9 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

The UPDF Tomahawks were swept after losing game 3, 65-52 and they are be condemned to another season in the FUBA Division One.

At Full Time, Henry Okoth was very emotional but it’s understandable because this was a big opportunity missed and there’s not a guarantee that next year they will make it.

The competition keeps getting tighter and tighter and with Power joining the fray, Sommet, Nkumba, UMU, and others also waiting for their turn, 2025 may be much harder than 2024 ever was.

Summary of Game 3

At half time, Rezlife Saints led the game 33-24 but 12 of the Rezlife points came from the line.

The Saints capitalized a lot from the line and that kept them afloat in the second quarter.

Henry Okoth took over in the fourth quarter, making 15 points,, including 3 consecutive 3-point shots that brought UPDF to within 6 points,s, but for all the positive things the Tomahawks did, they had foul proble, ms, and the Saints scored 5/6 from the line in the final minute of the third quarter.

The fourth was a nightmare for the Tomahawks as they scored just 7 points.

The shots that Okoth had made in the third quarter stopped dropping, and one could feel the frustration from the army side players, even coaches.

Matter of fact, even the fans they had brought “majje ge Bombo” we demoralized and couldn’t sing no more.

It was as though the angel of silence (Gabriel, who made John the Baptist’s father mute) had attacked all over and sudden because they were as silent as a graveyard.