If George Aporu is the present of Uganda’s volleyball then Cathberth Malinga has made it clear he doesn’t want to be the future. The senior six student from St Mary’s Kitende works day and night and wants to be ranked up there with the two-time Uspa Volleyball Player of the Year (Aporu just in case you are lost).
Not that he said it, but his actions say so and if his performance at the just concluded NSSF-KAVC International is anything to go by anyway. Malinga turns out for Nkumba Navy in the NSSF-Volleyball League but represent Sky in the NSSF-KAVC International last weekend.
A 19-year old, Malinga is good with his attack both on the front and back-court. He is working day and night to be better blocker, server, receiver and defender.
“I don’t want to be a volleyball player, I want to be a volleyball player who a team can rely on from defense, attack, block and all that,” Malinga says with too much confidence. Not so many kids of his generation are bothered about all that as long as they can spike.
A player with a big heart, not scared to tryout anything, he is adding the jump service to the qualities he wants to be good at. It mattered less as he kept on jumping serving out, ta times in the net.
“I want to be a jump server, not in training only but also in big matches and I know I will eventually get it right,” he said after the final. Unlike other good attackers in the country today, Malinga is not scared to help out on reception for his team.
Malinga and Nicholas Dheyongera’s were Sky’s main source of points on attack; the former beat the former to the best attacker gong. He is developing averagely and if handled well by his coaches, Aporu might have a challenger to the throne he has made his own for the past three year.