To Asinde, JKL Dolphins is not a mere stop-over 

After what she considers a big honour, when she was appointed the new women’s national team (The Gazelles) captain earlier this month, forward Jane Asinde is looking forward to the National Basketball League (NBL) play-off semi-finals with glee.

It may be surprising to many that Asinde cannot wait for a face-off with the JT Jaguars, considering how much stronger she has made the JKL Dolphins since she arrived from the USA a few weeks ago. Many believe it will be a largely lopsided semi-final. But that is not the case for Asinde, who believes that there can never be absolutes in anything sports related.

Essentially, Asinde believes that JT Jaguars, who have earned their place, will be a formidable force. Therefore, she intends to come out strong against them, to make sure that the JKL Dolphins win a fourth championship. This would be a first for Asinde, though.

While Asinde’s basketball career at the top level started at JKL in 2019, she had moved on to Grayson College in the USA by the time they won their second championship at the end of the year, which was a back-to-back feat. So, Asinde covets a first championships so much, which would be proof that her return to play in the NBL was no mere stop-over, but a desire to realize a dream.

“I played the whole of the first round in 2019. But i did not get to experience the feeling of winning. And I want it badly now,” Asinde said.

Based on that, her application in game two quarter-final playoff against the UPDF Lady Tomahawks was unsurprising. Even though she still had fatigue and jet-lag to contend with, following the Gazelles’ return from a training camp in Germany (they played two build-up games against Ireland, which they won) on Friday, July 26, Asinde recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds in what was her third game for the team since her return.

She was the team’s second highest scorer, after Brenda Ekon, who notched 27 points. If JKL only lost one in 22 regular season games, one should shudder to think of what they are going to be now with Asinde in the side. She is a very competitive athlete. Her average in the 2023/24 season at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) was 16 points, nine rebounds and 1.7 assists.

Even though her best act in the five years she was in the USA, which started out at Grayson College, only saw Asinde reach a semi-final once, she has been playing with opponents that were drafted into the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), the most competitive women’s championship in the world.

So, the JT Jaguars, and whoever else, will have to play out of their skin to stop Asinde, who is clearly focused on her goal. Asinde, who is comfortable to play position 3,4 and 5, will be heading out to one of the top leagues in Europe in September.

But first, the two-time East African Secondary Schools champion in 2017 and 2018 for Buddo SS is determined to leave a mark on home soil. In 2018, in Rwanda during the aforementioned games, Asinde was MVP and top-scorer playing alongside Rose Akon, formerly with UCU Lady Canons. Asinde bossed the region, yet she never won a national schools championship, ironically. So, the NBL should make up for that.

jovi@observer.ug