At the end of the 2025 Division One Season after Pearl Queens had won the championship, most of their players were excited that they would be going to play in the NBL.

In my heart of hearts, I felt bad for them because there was no way that most of those players would ‘compete’ in the NBL. Majority of them were fringe players who at best would just participate at that level yet Pearl Queens is a team that wants to compete.

Fast forward to the transfer period, only three (3) players from the team that won the championship remained. Actually all those three players were bench players and got a couple of minutes here and there. The entire core of the team and its supporting cast left and this, in many ways, was expected.

Why was this the case?

What we have seen so far is that Pearl Queens management is ambitious and with this, you have to make the hard decisions.

In 2025 when the team was formed, they looked for ‘available’ players that could help them ascend to the NBL. If you remember well, some of those players were in the saga of A1 Challenge. But still, the team wasn’t strong enough and they made a move that helped them win.

Pearl Queens signed Lavin Auma Owiti who dominated the league and most assuredly, hadn’t she been around, the team may not have won. She was a beast of offense, putting up big numbers every game and when it came to defense, it was hard to go past her.

This showed us that Pearl Queens is willing to do extra including breaking the bank in order to achieve their goal

This year, they are in the NBL and the question is, can they challenge for the title?

In my opinion, I think not. And here is why.

The New Signings

There was talk that Pearl Queens was interested in people like Evelyne Nakiyingi, Hope Akello, Becky Longom and even Sharon Kirabo. When you think about it, all those are solid players and if they had them, there is no doubt that they would be contenders. However, that is not the case and the players that they have don’t give ‘championship’ vibes.

Patience karungi was a third string point guard at KIU Rangers. Namulema Fildauce has exhibited moments of brilliance but is she a point guard that can take you to the summit? I don’t this so.  She has never done that before. Ballo Djeneba played briefly at KIU Rangers in the 2025 NBL season. She has some quality but is a person that needs the ball in her hands in order to explode. How can you utilize her in a new team setting?

Rose Adhiambo was one of the most explosive players for YMCA. However, she used to have the ball in her hands for most of the possessions. How can she play alongside Ballo, Fildauce and even Karungi? Who starts? When do they start? What are the combinations? All these remain problems to be resolved ahead of the season.

When you look at a person like Racheal Nanyonga, can she be among the top 5 forwards in the country? Penlop Amiya was a key player for Nkumba but to be honest, she wasn’t the back born but rather a part of the squad.

The one interesting local signing that they made is Agatha Kamwada who has won four consecutive championships. However, can she lead this team? During her time at UCU and even JKL, she was more of a role player, one that came on for a defensive assignment or even to give the team a spark on offense.

In Pearl Queens, she is the person that has championship experience. Can she share some of that DNA into the rest of the squad? Also, can she lead?

Foreign signings

Nigerian Jane Chisom Iriele is a very interesting signing. She has played at the continental stage and has that experience. However, when you look at her Instagram, she identifies as a guard but on the team list, her position is center. We are yet to know how much damage she can be able to cause in the paint.

Congolese Rosiane Mungwapa Mpokfuri has some size to her but has no prior recorded continental or Internatinal experience. It is very hard to determine how impactful she will be until we see her in action.

As I conclude, this team has a lot of questions that they must answer before they can think about winning the championship. To make matters worse, teams like UCU lady Canons, JKL Lady Dolphins, JT Lady Jaguars, Magic Stormers and KCCA Leopards are ahead of them.

The NBL is expected to tip-off on 6th February 2026.