The Magic Stormers will be facing the Nkumba Lady Marines in tonight’s National Basketball League (NBL) action at the Lugogo Indoor Stadium.
For a team that has lost all 12 of its league games thus far, the Marines are not expected to offer much resistance to the Stormers. Over the weekend, the Stormers started their NBL second round action with a 74-50 win against Nabisunsa at the YMCA in Wandegeya.
But as has been the story of this usually mid-table team, that lies fourth on the eleven-team log, the Stormers have relied a lot on the sister act of Daphine Adong, 23 and Angela Auma, 17. The duo has been so dominant this season in its team’s eleven game run.
In fact, no other player on the Magic Stormers’ roaster has played more minutes than Adong and Auma. On average, Adong has been on the court for 30 of the 40 minutes for which the game runs, while Auma, even as youthful as she is, has averaged 26 minutes. That only confirms how much coach John Omondi relies on the pair.
What could he do without them? But Adong does not look at it that way. She said: “We are part of a good team, where everyone plays a role. And each minute every individual plays, contributes significantly to the team’s success.”
Incidentally, Adong is in her fifth season at Magic Stormers, which proves how much she has been a mainstay at the club. On the other hand, her sister, is in her third season. Talk about tapping them young, and you have Adong and Auma. Omondi has not minced his words in the past about how talented they are.
It is as a result of their technical attributes, that they are already being considered seniors even when they are still very young. Auma was part of the national under-18 girls team that reached the semi-finals of the Fiba Africa under-18 basketball championship in South Africa, last year. And no doubt Auma was impressive, as she has been in the league.
Auma is considered one of the finest three point shooters in the women’s top flight. This season alone, Auma is one of the biggest scorers in the women’s league, averaging 16.4 points per game. That is more than the current women’s MVP, Hope Akello (14.9 points), who is one of the best female players in the country.
Such a statistic should actually inspire Auma, a point-guard/shooting guard even more, considering that Akello is a star with the national women’s team, the Gazelles. That said, Auma’s older sister Adong is not far off either.
She has averaged 14.1 points per game. As a small forward, Adong has dreams of joining Akello on the Gazelles team one of these days. That is what is pushing her numbers and display. But first, her focus will be on making sure she leads her team past Nkumba tonight.