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Big League: Blacks Power edge Kataka in Mbale
Ssenyondo pleased with Uganda Cubs second half performance in defeat to Morocco
Uganda Cubs fall to Morocco in AFCON U-17

UCU Canons sealed the last spot in the National Basketball League Playoff semifinals after defeating Power on Wednesday.

The Canons cruised past Power 85-68 at YMCA to take the series 2-1 and advance to the semifinals where they will face KIU Titans.

UCU Canons who arrived at the venue much earlier than their opponents showed intent right away by swiftly seizing control of the game right from tipoff. The first quarter saw them establish a double-digit lead, outscoring their opponents 23-8.

By halftime, the signs were clear that the university side would advance as the scoreboard read 50-23 in their favour. Their dominance continued into the third quarter, where they extended their lead to an impressive 29 points (70-41).

However, in the final quarter, the Canons seemed to put the foot off the gas pedal which allowed Power to make the final score seem like the game was a contest as they won the quarter 27-15.

Peter Sifuma scored 20 points to go with 12 rebounds to lead Canons while Lwabaga Ibanda and Abraham Isyagi also scored in double figures with 18 and 12 points respectively.

Ozias Kikomba, Elvis Ssentongo, and Elvis Mpeti reached double-figure scoring for Power with 15, 14, and 13 points respectively.

Semifinal Match Ups

Women

Men

National Basketball League | Results
Sunday, August 27, 2023

Women

Men

Namuwongo Blazers suffered a rare loss to bottom-placed Rezlife Saints in the National Basketball League at Lugogo Arena on Sunday.

Rezlife held their nerves throughout the game to register an 88-62 victory to keep their hopes of survival alive.

It was the final game for Nam Blazers in regular season carding 17 victories and five losses throughout the 22 games of the campaign.

Before falling to the newcomers, Nam Blazers had failed to go past City Oilers (twice), UCU Canons and KIU Titans.

On the other hand, Rezlife has managed only four wins and still has four games to conclude their regular season.

The winning team’s scoreboard was led by Joshua Maiba who harvested a double-double, scoring 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Micheal Otieno and Micheal Ssematimba added 17 and 12 points respectively to give the Lubowa-based side a deserving win.

Dickson Asiku and Chuol Nyuot scored 18 and 12 respectively for Blazers but it was not enough to secure a positive result from the game.

Rezlife Saints suffered their eighth straight loss in the National Basketball League (NBL) at Lugogo Indoor Arena on Wednesday.

D-Mark Power registered a 77-71 victory against the Saints who sunk further on the 12-team NBL log.

With four games to play, the Lubowa-based side has their chances to play in the NBL next season hanging on a thin thread.

Rezlife’s remaining fixture will see them tussle out JKL Dolphins, Ndejje Angels, UPDF Tamahwaks, and Namuwongo Blazers as they seek a perfect run from all those outings.

Guellord Mobanza and Ozias Kikomba scored a game-high 17 points each while Elvis Ssentongo added 14 for the D-Mark Power.

For Rezlife, Emmanuel Okot harvested 15 points, Benjamin Kawumi and Ivan Ombiru contributed 12 before Claude Alisengawa added 10.

With two games to conclude the regular season, Power has managed to win 11 of their 20 games played while Rezlife suffered the 15th loss in the 18 games played so far.

Uganda National Basketball Team, Gazelles, will take on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the qualifier for the quarterfinals.

Per the competition format, Gazelles who finished second in Group C having lost one (to Mali) and won the other (against Senegal) crossed with the bottom team in Group D which is DRC.

The clash is scheduled to be played on Tuesday night (10:00pm, EAT) with the winner advancing face Rwanda in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Alberto Antuna, the head coach of Uganda, believes his charges need to stick to the structures and use the performance against Senegal as an inspiration.

“Congo is a really physical team, experienced team more than us but we need to adapt our game plan against them. They are a really [an] athletic team, they’ve been playing with a seven, eight, nine-player rotation, so we need to try to be a team. We have to run, be aggressive and score from our defence,” he. said.

“We are going to use it [win over Senegal] in a way like the players know that doing the game plan, respecting the rules, we can compete against anyone in this tournament. So obviously, the win gives us confidence and some energy to keep competing,” Antuna added.

If Uganda defeats the hosts, a place in the semifinals will pit them against defending champions Nigeria, who will have to get past either Mozambique or Cote D’Ivoire in the other quarterfinal.

Uganda shocked Senegal in a thrilling encounter of the 2023 FIBA Women’s Afrobasket on Saturday evening.

The Gazelles held their nerves to beat Senegal 85-83 in a nail-biting affair that was played at the BK Kigali Arena in Rwanda.

In the post-game presser, forward Jane Asinde revealed that coach Alberto Antuna asked them to compete and they did so hence pulling off the biggest upset of the ongoing championship thus far.

“The coach told us to compete and that is what we did,” Asinde said shortly after the final whistle which was followed by wild celebrations.

“He (Antuna) told us Senegal is a good team but there are rules and we needed to follow them. So we stayed disciplined and that led to the amazing outcome.”

“We respected them but we didn’t fear them. You know, it was a competitive game, and we kept on playing till the last minute. But when I went for the last contest, I knew it was a win.”

“We are ready for any team and we are going to be prepared to take on each side that comes our way,” Asinde concluded.

Asinde dropped 20 points, 9 rebounds, three assists and two steals to stage a top performance in the closely-contested game.

In the same breath, Janon Otto equally left everything on the floor after scoring 21 points, pulling down six rebounds and making five assists.

It was end-to-end action at the BK Arena, as the fans and everyone there kept on the edge of their seating waiting to see which side the pendulum bob would finally settle.

In the last minute, Uganda scored 5-2 hence staging a big surprise for the 11-time champion.

Uganda takes a rest on Sunday as they witness Mali take on the wounded buffalo in Senegal.

2023 FIBA Women’s Afrobasket | Results

Friday, July 28, 2023

Uganda Women’s National Basketball, the Gazelles suffered a 66-80 loss to Mali in the 2023 FIBA Women Afrobasket at BK Arena Kigali in Rwanda on Friday evening.

It was a false start for the Gazelles in their opening game but will walk away with a number of lessons after an entertaining duel with Africa’s number two, Mali.

It was not the best show for Alberto Antuna’s troops on the continental stage as they failed to contain the pressure from the African giants.

They gave away points due to careless turnovers, poor ball handling and a couple of errors on the court. The Gazelles struggled to beat Mali’s high court press.

Supported by a sizeable number of fans, Uganda started the game on the right note leading the first quarter 19-16 but later fell behind to four points (37-33) after the halftime whistle.

Mali’s experience was shown as they showed up when it mattered most. They made sure that they created the gap in the second half punishing the Gazelles each time they faltered.

Mali’s Djeneba N’Diaye scored a game-high of 25 points and Fatoumata Sanou added 15 points to ensure they see off Uganda.

On the other hand, Jannon Otto led Uganda’s scoring board with 19 points while Brenda Ekone and Claire Lamunu added 12 and 10 to post double figures.

Next on the menu, Uganda will be facing yet other African giant Senegal.

Uganda Women’s National Basketball Team, the Gazelles, is beaming with confidence ahead of the Mali duel in their opening game at the 2023 FIBA Women’s Afrobasket.

It will be the much-anticipated return on the continental stage as they seek a perfect start at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.

In an interview ahead of the big contest, Gazelles’ coach Albert Antuna revealed it’s a moment they’ve been waiting for as a team and they are ready to fly the nation’s flag so high.

“The preparations have come to an end, like finally we are here, the players and all the coaches have been longing for this moment to start the championship,” Atuna confidently said.

“I feel we’ve had good preparations and surely FUBA made an amazing effort to see that we come to Kigali before the full championship. It has enabled us to have three full sessions in the main arena.”

“It’s time to enjoy, it’s time to compete. It’s very important for us to compete because we know we are going to face two top teams in our group. They have been doing well in the previous tournaments but we are ready,” he further noted.

The need to put everything on the court

Uganda makes a return to the Afrobasket after being part of the tournament in 2015 and 1997.

In 1997, they were treated to the baptism of fire losing all four games played in the championship later on in 2015, they improved by scooping two victories, one in the group and the other on the classification level.

So there is a need to put everything on the court to see that they stage the desired fight against 11-time winners Senegal and Mali who won the championship back in 2007.

According to coach Antuna, it will be day by day as they collect the experience to grow into the tournament.

“It gonna be day by day competing, enjoying the experience and putting everything on the court. We want to make the people in Uganda proud because the girls are back in a great international competition,” he concluded.

In the same breath, Gazelles captain Flavia Oketcho said the team is ready to put up a fight.

“We are ready to ramble. We’ve had a fantastic preparation right from Kampala to Kigali. We arrived a bit early and had a chance to test the court. The Ladies are ready and we are as prepared as we can be,” she affirmed.

The Groups

Good Luck Gazelles, Let’s Go UG!!!!

National Basketball League

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Women

Men

City Oilers collected their 16th straight win after beating Rezlife Saints 84-41 in the National Basketball League at the Lugogo Arena on Wednesday.

Mandy Juruni’s troops are a house on fire and it seems they are not planning to run out of flames. The record champions are still unbeaten and are playing 16 games.

Jimmy Enabu scored a game-high of 14 points before Maker Mer Roor and Ben Komakech scored 13 and 10 points respectively hence sealing off the victory.

On the other hand, Rezlife suffered their fifth straight loss in the second round meaning they have not won a game since the season resumed.

They had no one with a double figure on the scoreboard, Micheal Otieno scoring a team-high of nine points. Claude Lubega and Benjamin Kawuni added six and five respectively.

Just like expected, the Oilers started on the front foot taking charge of the first quarter 17-9. At halftime, the Saints were trailing by a sum of 19 points (35-16).

In the second half, the Saints pulled up their stocking to score a double in the third quarter but still were on the receiving side by 10 (24-14).

At full-time, Daniel Juuko’s troops were trailing by 43 points in the one-sided game yet the Oilers hardly put in a shift to register this victory.

City Oilers are fifth on the 12-teamed log while Rezlife lie at the bottom of the log.

In the next fixtures, Rezlife take on Ndejje University while City Oilers’ duel against KIU will not be played since the games happening that weekend were postponed due to Afrobasket.

Federations of Uganda Basketball Association (FUBA) has postponed National Basketball League (NBL) games.

The development was made to allow all stakeholders be able to fully support the Gazelles that will be taking part of the FIBA Women’s Afrobasket 2023 .

The continental showdown will be held in Kigali, Rwanda from July 28 to August 6 in the ongoing year.

According to the letter dispatched by Hudson Ssegamwenge, the General Secretary of FUBA.

“The Senior National Women’s Team (Gazelles) is schedules to take part in the upcoming FIBA Women’s Afrobasket championship on the 28th of July 2023 to the 6th of August 2023 in Kigali, Rwanda,” the letter partly read.

According to the letter, the league games before July 28 will go on as scheduled and later the break will get underway.

“This serves to inform all teams, club presidents, team managers, athletes, FUBA officials and all other stakeholders that the Senior National Women’s Team is scheduled to take part in the Afrobasket,” the letter added.

“Therefore, all different league fixtures across all divisions scheduled to take place between July 27 to August 7 2023 are hereby postponed to enable the basketball fraternity fully support the team. All league activities shall resume on August 8 2023,” it concluded.

In the Afrobasket, the Gazelles are pooled in group C alongside Mali and Senegal.

Their fast outing will be against Mali on July 29 before taking on Mali a day later at the fascinating BK Kigali Arena in Rwanda.

National Basketball League

Sunday, July 16, 2023

Men

Women

UPDF Tomahawks edged UCU Canons in a 57-53 victory in the National Basketball League at YMCA Courts, Wandegeya on Sunday evening.

The loss compounded the Canons’ misery who have now lost the third game in a row.

Felix Mukunzi led the Tomahawks with 15 points while Micheal Kojjo and Arthur Wanyoto added 11 and 10 respectively.

Gang was named the NBL player of the game after dropping 11 points, 11 rebounds and two assists.

Ibanda Lwabaga scored a game-high 16 points, six rebounds and two assists and Abraham Isiagi added 11 points but it was not enough to award his side a victory.

The Canons captain went 4-for-11 from downtown to collect 12 points from outside the arc.

After missing the thrilling duel against Nam Blazers, Peter Sifuma scored 10 points and pulled down a game-high 20 rebounds thus owning the paint.

Tomahawks led the first quarter by four points (11-7) before the two sides levelled in the second frame (12-12).

After the long break, the army side edged the Canons 19-16 before the Mukono-based side took charge of the fourth frame 18-15 but it was late to pick anything positive from the game.

Next on the menu, UPDF will take on City Oilers who are still on a perfect run while the Canons will lock horns with the Kampala Rockets.