The highly anticipated National Basketball League (NBL) Finals tipoff between Namuwongo Blazers and City Oilers is on the brink of collapse.
Nam Blazers has threatened to boycott the tip-off of the NBL Finals scheduled for Friday, October 24, 2025, at Lugogo Indoor Arena in Kampala.
This was confirmed via an official document released on the Blazers’ official social media platforms.
“Namuwongo Blazers remains committed to honouring the October 26 start date as previously agreed and communicated,” the statement partly reads.
This development has generated a sense of unease within the basketball fraternity, leading to uncertainty about the path ahead and the likelihood of the Blazers’ camp and the competition desk reaching a mutual agreement.
Broken Promise
The arising conflict stems from the Blazers’ engagement in the Road to Basketball Africa League (BAL) 2026 Qualifiers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
For a smooth flow of the qualifications, the Blazers requested a postponement of the NBL Finals. FUBA agreed to the request rescheduling the Finals tipoff to Sunday, October 26.
However, while the Blazers were still taking part in the Road to BAL, the situation changed abruptly as they were shocked by a change of dates in the fixtures circulating online.
“On October 17, while in Tanzania, we received unofficial word that the NBL Finals date had been moved up to Friday October 24,” the statement states a direct contradiction to the earlier promise.
The Blazers management promptly dismissed this reasoning, asserting that the sudden change not only jeopardized player logistics and preparation time but also raised serious concerns regarding the consistency and transparency of governance within the federation.