The JT Lady Jaguars have two big games this week, coming within the space of three days.
Tonight, they face the KIU Rangers, before taking on a high-flying UCU Lady Canons on Friday, June 27, both ties at the Lugogo indoor stadium. However, considering how the Jaguars lost two of their last four games against title rivals KCCA Leopards and the JKL Lady Dolphins, doubts have emerged about whether they have what it takes to win the ultimate prize.
At the beginning of the season, following the acquisition of Shakira Nanvubya and Aziida Nabayunga from UCU, the Jaguars looked a shoo-in to wrestle the women’s championship away from the Dolphins.
The fact is that when Jaguars opened the 2025 season with a 75-71 win over the Dolphins clearly laid credence to that possibility. Yet, last Friday, June 20, seeing Dolphins obliterate Jaguars 82-52, which came on the back of an earlier Jaguars 46-63 defeat at the hands of KCCA, pointed to fundamental problems within the den. Sudi Ulanga, the Jaguars coach is not one to hide his head in the sand.
He said: “There is a lot to learn from those games, and we are working hard to improve, because we did not play well at all.”
Losing games is not the most outrageous thing, but the manner in which one loses them is the catch herein. It is rare that a team set to win the championship like the Jaguars have been portrayed, loses to its biggest rivals, KCCA by 17 points, and then a week later lose to the Dolphins by 30 points.
Those are the points differences by which teams like Angels, Nkumba, and Nabisunsa lose by when they face the big girls. No one expects them to really put up a sustained challenge for silverware anyway.
It is the same feeling that many basketball observers are now developing as far as the Jaguars are concerned. Their results against their main rivals suggest that they are a team with a poor defence, yet defence wins championships.
But beyond that, while the Jaguars have managed to beat the Miracle Eaglets 70-55 and the UPDF Lady Tomahawks 92-63 in between those defeats, those are smaller opponents, that do not seem to matter in the grand scheme of things. Jaguars are proving to be “flat-track bullies”, dominating the little teams.
However, a lot is expected of Rhoda Naggita, Nabayunga, Nanvubya, Brenda Kayaga and company in the big games, yet, they have frozen, and failed to execute effective plays against their major rivals. Jaguars, who lost only one game in the 10 first round games, have not looked structured in the big games, hence have now lost two of their five second round games.