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National Basketball League – Fixture

UCU Lady Canons will be taking on Miracle Ravens in the National Basketball League at YMCA Courts on Wednesday.

Miracle Ravens having edged the log leaders KCCA Leopards in the previous game come in this duel with a mental boost.

However, UCU Lady Cardinals’ Shakira Nanvubya believes they have all in their hands to beat Miracle Ravens.

“We are ready because we have been preparing. Of course, we want to win because Miracle (Ravens) have never been a threat to us,” she started.

“Regardless of how we do that, I am very confident that we shall win. I know Miracle is a good team but we are equally good and that should be now taken on the court. They have won some hard games but that hardly matters,” she went on.

Looking at the log, Miracle has secured seven victories and only suffered three losses in the 10 games played.

With their hard-working and physical attitude always staged on the court, UCU will have to bring the A-game to survive a scare.

Nanvubya believes they know how to handle games in different situations because they are prepared by the best coaches.

“In basketball, you win with three dimensions that are speed, physicality, or skill. We are prepared by the best (coaches) and so we are not scared of anyone. The players are ready and everyone is in the best shape to play,” she concluded.

UCU Lady Canons registered a well-deserved 75-52 victory against Magic Stormers in the National Basketball League at Lugogo Arena on Wednesday evening.

The Lady Canons returned to winning ways after falling to the JKL Lady Dolphins in a narrow defeat last Friday.

Tracy Namugosa led the Mukono based side with a double double dropping 17 points and 11 rebounds. She converted five of the 13 attempts in the paint and two of the five from down town.

In addition, only Slyvia Nantongo was the other Lady Canons player to make it into a double digit scoring after gathering 14 points.

On the other side, only Kur Ajah managed a double with 14 points as Ruth Nambirige followed with nine points and as many rebounds on the day.

Lady Canons clearly showed their intention in the game after creating a seven-point lead (16-9) at the end of the first quarter before the advantage was extended to 13 (36-23) at halftime.

The Magic Stormers slightly improved in the third quarter leading the period (17-15) but at the end they were trailing by 11.

However, Prosper Ayine’s three-point jump shot sealed the thrilling period as the Lady Canons secured a 23-point victory.

Next on the menu, UCU Lady Canons will take on Miracle Ravens on Wednesday March 13 while Magic Stormers will return to action on Sunday March 17 as they take on KCCA Leopards.

JKL Lady Dolphins secured a 75-68 victory against UCU Lady Dolphins in the National Basketball League at Lugogo Arena, Kampala on Friday night.

In front of a decent crowd, JKL Dolphins continued with their impressive run registering the fourth victory of the 2024-25 NBL campaign.

Shakira Nanvubya’s three-point jump shot got the game underway before JKL Dolphins posted a three-point lead at the end of the first period.

However, the Lady Dolphins were so poor in the second quarter scoring only eight, 11 less than what they harvested in the first quarter.

It was a 15-point lead at halftime as the Lady Canons were heading into a very tough second half of the duel.

In the final quarter, Nicholas Natuhereza’s side improved defensively and narrowed down their deficit to six points midway through the block.

At that juncture, Evelyn Nakiyingi poured water to the Lady Canons’ flames with one from downtown before Beck Longom regained the Lady Dolphins’ double lead.

Tracy Namugosa and Nabayunga had the last kick of the dying horse as the Lady Canons trailed by seven at full-time.

Hope Akello once again had an impressive game with a double-double scoring 23 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Ritah Imanishimwe and Longom added 17 and 10 points respectively.

While Nanvubya (13), Nabayunga (13), Bridget Aber (11), Hajara Najjuko (10) and Namogosa (10) all scored double digits for the Lady Canons.

AfroBasket Qualifiers – Uganda’s Results

Uganda’s Silverbacks suffered a bitter 71-59 defeat to Libya in the 2025 AfroBasket Qualifiers on Sunday in Tunisia.

It was the second loss for the Silverbacks who played three games in the just-concluded window of the qualifiers.

After narrowly falling to Cape Verde (78-73) in the opening game, the Silverbacks went on and put up a great fight thus edging Nigeria in a 72-62 victory.

The Silverbacks were expected to go all the way and conclude on a high with a victory against Libya but that did not go to the book as planned.

Libya got out of their blocks early thus creating a five-point lead (21-16) at the end of the first quarter against a disjointed Ugandan side.

The Libyan side was well-motivated and kept shooting behind the arc creating an 11-point lead (40-29) going into the break.

Despite a great fight from Mandy Juruni’s troops in the third period, the lead was only reduced by a point (57-47) as Libya kept glued in the driving seat.

City Oilers duo Tonny Drilleba (16 points) and Ivan Muhwezi (15 points) teamed up to gather 31 points of the 59.

For Libya, Gyayth Alrahman, Sofian Hamad, Mohamed Sadi and Salem Naseim all were in double digits scoring 16, 16, 12 and 14 points respectively.

With two losses and one win, the Silverbacks will have a tough test in the second and final window as the four sides will lock horns yet again in February 2025.

National Basketball League – Results

Sharon Kirabo dropped 20 points as KIU Rangers beat UPDF Lady Tomahawks 81-53 in the National Basketball League on Saturday at UCU Basketball Court, Mukono.

The Rangers opened up a 14-point lead at the end of the first quarter (24-10) before the Lady Tomahawks took charge of the second quarter. However, at halftime, the Ranger had an 8-point lead (40-32).

Coming from the break, it was a seesaw affair as each side scored 12 points (52-44) each setting up an exciting fourth quarter.

At that juncture, the Rangers turned up in beast mood as they limited the Lady Tomahawks to only nine points as they dropped 29 concluding the victory with a 28-point lead. Hi

Kirabo pulled down 16 rebounds to complete a double. While Ines Kanyamuneza added 27 points, four rebounds and five assists.

Dorah Nakijjoba (11 points) and Christine Namyalo (10 points) are the only ones that managed scoring in double figures for UPDF.

After the final whistle, the Rangers head coach Jullius Lutwama shared his excitement revealing that his troops endured to put up a good game amidst a challenging environment.

“I feel so happy especially after playing in this heat but also defeating a sprinted team like UPDF. It was a great game for us and am so glad,” he said.

“Our emphasis has been on playing as a team and sharing the ball a bit more. That is why we have continued to have more players in double digits,” he added.

The Uganda Men’s National Basketball Team (Silverbacks) will be taking part of the upcoming 2025 FIBA AfroBasket qualifiers in Tunisia.

The Silverbacks will be out to tussle it out against Cape Verde, Nigeria and Libya as they seek a slot in the continental showpiece.

Silverbacks head coach Juruni has set a clear target of winning as many games as possible but also making it hard for other sides to pick any positives from the encounters.

“Our target is to win as many games as we can and compete hard throughout. We are looking for a strong squad that will help us achieve that,” he said.

Juruni joined the boys in Monastir, Tunisia on Tuesday ahead of tip off on Friday and the team will only have two more days to prepare. The gaffer is optimistic having met the sides before.

“We have faced these teams before and are aware of what to expect. African basketball is physical and quick so we have to have defensive coverage,” he added.

“Chemistry is key in the four days of training before action begins, we’re focused on getting the basics right, mainly creativity as that will propel us to victory.”

Uganda will kick start the campaign against Cape Verde on Friday before they play Nigeria and Libya on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Looking back, the last time the Silverbacks played at the AfroBasket, they put in a great shift and finished sixth overall after losing to Cape Verde in a classification game.

National Basketball League – Results

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Namuwongo Blazers registered an 89-67 victory against Kampala Rockets in an exciting National Basketball League encounter at the YMCA Court on Sunday.

The Blazers secured the third victory in four games played thus far in the ongoing campaign.

In search of a sounding victory, the Blazers quickly got out of their blocks and took control of the game finishing the first period with a six-point advantage (17-11).

The Blazers only got better in the second quarter scoring 10 more points than they managed in the second quarter compounding the Rockets’ sorrow who were trailing by 17 (44-27) at halftime.

Coming from the locker rooms, the Rockets found their footing and fought hard to reduce the deficit to 10 points (61-51) as Simon Ola sealed the third quarter with a two-point jump shot.

In the final quarter of the game, the Blazers got on top of their game and recreated the huge gap between the two sides as they perfectly sealed their 22-point victory.

Peter Cheng harvested a game-high with 24 points topping Namuwongo Blazers’ scoring sheet as Innocent Ochera and Joseph Chuma added 23 and 19 points respectively.

The Rockets’ scoring was led by Francis Kasinde who dropped 20 points followed by John Dombo and Ola who dropped 17 and 11 points.

It was a great shooting day for the winning team which managed to convert 11 of the 22 attempts outside the paint. 

National Basketball League | Fixture

KIU Titans and City Oilers will lock up horns in the National Basketball League at Lugogo Arena today Friday, February 16, 2024.

The two sides faced in last season’s finals which was clinched by City Oilers on a 4-2 aggregate victory as they lifted their ninth title.

In the pre-match conference, KIU Titans head coach Julius Lutwama revealed that it’s not any special game and they will only try and play their normal game.

“We are playing City Oilers and nothing is exceptional with this game. All we plan is to go and execute our game plan,” Lutwama said.

“We have had good preparations and we shall try and execute our plan. However, City Oilers have always been special, the fact that they have won nine (titles) in a row because they have no competitor for that,” he added.

Nonetheless, Lutwama believes the gap between the two sides is not big since they met in the finals of the previous campaign.

“The fact that we played them in the finals last season shows how we are close and it’s one thing we shall try and weigh.”

The Titans will attempt and end the Oilers’ unbeaten run following back-to-back victories against UCU Canons (83-52) and Kampala Rockets (73-53). For Starters, the Titans fell to Namuwongo Blazers (59-63) in the season opener.

KIU Titans’ roaster has been boosted by the return of Peter Obleg after a long off-season break.

On the other hand, the City Oilers look like a well-oiled machine ready to go all the way. Their thrilling start to the campaign has seen them secure four victories in four games played this far.

Ndejje Angels head coach John Omondi ‘Mapeesa’ is extremely proud of Christian Ndibu’s thrilling show in the loss against City Oilers.

In the National Basketball League encounter played at Lugogo Arena on Wednesday, Ndejje Angels fell to City Oilers in an 83-75 loss.

While speaking to the press, Omondi said that they expect a lot from Ndibu after starting his life at Angels on a high.

“Christian Ndibu is one of our imports and we expect a lot from him. He is doing a good job so far and jellying into the team well,” Omondi said.

“Things are moving on well for him. We are trying to fit him in and but also adjust to ensure we allow him to flourish,” he added.

“I think one of the good things he is doing is rebounding.  I think he has the best rebounding statistics; he is improving every game and I am happy for him.”

“We had earlier told him that this is one of the games that makes our highlights. We had told him that this is one of the games that we want to win, that is why we gave it a strong effort.”

Ndibu scored a game high of 20 points as well as pulling down 21 rebounds. His fight and aggression throughout the game gave City Oilers a hard time in the paint.

The Angels have so far played five games, among those they picked two wins against Kampala Rockets and league newbies Livingstone. However, they have also lost to Our Saviour, JT Jaguars, and City Oilers.

National Basketball League | Results 

Men

Women

UCU Canons registered a 78-63 victory against JT Jaguars in the National Basketball League at Lugogo Arena on Sunday evening.

Canons secured the third victory for the campaign. They have so far beaten Kampala Rockets, Dmark Power, and JT Jaguars in the ongoing campaign.

Jimmy Otim led the surge with 20 points. Joel Kayiira was big once again with a double-double scoring 13 points and pulling down 16 rebounds before Peter Sifuma added 10 points.

For JT Jaguars, Benjamin Shango led the scoring sheet with 20 points before George Agasi and Kevin Moru added 10 points each.

Ibanda Lwabaga’s floating jump shot and Kevin Kasobya’s layup got the game underway. At the end of the first period, UCU created a seven-point (18-11) lead.

The JT Jaguars were the better side in the second period scoring 24 points, 18 more than they managed in the first quarter nonetheless Canons held their nerves and at least concluded the quarter with a two-point lead (42-40).

Kevin Kasobya’s three-point jump shot concluded UCUA’s thrilling third quarter as they limited the Jaguars to only six points. The electric performance from the Mukono-based side created a whooping 20-point lead (66-46).

Despite the trial for the Jaguars to make a comeback in the final quarter, it was too late to command anything positive as the Mukono-based side ran away with a 13-point victory (78-65).

The Canons will return to action as they take on Ndejje Angels on Saturday, February 17 while the Jaguars will return to action on Saturday, February 24 as they play Our Saviour.