Kampala — WHEN the Mogas Falcons open their defence of the men's national basketball crown against Sadolin Power tonight, nearly all the attention will be on the stars out on the Lugogo centre court.

The trained eye will however devote nearly as much interest to the two opposing technical arms, charged with devising a victorious plan of engagement.

Smatts Olumbo, the vastly experienced Kenyan coach on the Falcons' bench, will come up against Bernice Ankunda and Andrew Bazira. The two Power coaches are youngsters who have just recently stopped playing the sport and it would be comical comparing their coaching experiences to that of Olumbo.

Never has the phrase "pitting their wits against each other" been so inapplicable. Such is the humour of sport that Olumbo has to outsmart the two upstarts to avoid looking funny.

The Falcons' captain Eric Malinga says the presence of the Kenyan ladies national coach will be advantageous in the Best-of-5 playoffs finals.

"Technically, he has been a big help," he said. "We would still be competitive without him but it would be a bit different. I would say the fact that he has more experience than Power's coaches gives us an edge."

Malinga's counterpart would not dismiss their rivals' greater tactical resources but stressed that Power has the team to overcome anything.

"With the squad we have, I think we can beat them even if they have a good coach," said Power skipper Isaac Afidra. "For me it's all about who wants to win the title more."

Power have met the Falcons twice in the finals before, in 2000 and 2002.

Power swept the first meeting 3-0 to claim their second and only title since but the Falcons won the 2002 meeting after coming from 2-0 down.

Malinga and Afidra are two of the five players who survive from the last finals battle. The others are Malinga's brother Henry and Sam Obol, and Power's Isaac Wapera.

MTN-FUBA Playoffs FINAL

Today, Lugogo 8pm

Falcons v Power

Division Two 5pm

Ndejje v Riders