From the start, 2018 Joan Cox memorial tournament was a tune-up event for Vision Volleyball Camp (VVC) ahead of the African Women’s Club Championship.
For head coach Hannington Nsubuga, it was about tactically engaging his players ahead of the continental showpiece in Cairo next week.
However, when the side made the final, expectations were heightened and along came the pressure eventually losing to Sport-S in straight sets but Nsubuga remains positive.
“I’m proud of my team for how well they played,” he said as quoted by the club website.
“Obviously there’s a lot more pressure in the final but we made sure to keep together. We knew if we tried the game we had been working on, we would do well as long as the new players were blending into the team tactics.
“We lost that one and it’s tough but we wanted to make sure we were doing exactly what we were working on all this time because we know that will lead us to better play where we are headed.
“Some few mistakes cost us crucial points but other than that we had a strong game which shows progression. We have had an incredible preparation as a team and to top it off this way feels amazing,”
Although disappointed by the defeat, team captain Maggie Namyalo is equally optimistic heading to the March 6-15 tournament.
“We came up short and it never feels good. We really wanted to bag this to make a statement going into the season,” she says.
“It’s always tough when you lose especially when it’s the final. It’s a pity we didn’t play well but it was a great experience for us especially heading into the Africa Women Club Championship next week.
“We didn’t do it this time, it doesn’t mean we won’t do it next time,” Namyalo asserted.