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City Oilers have learnt their opponents at the Elite 16 Round of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) 2022 Qualifiers.

As per the draws held on Saturday in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, the Ugandan champions are in Group H2 of Division East of the qualifiers.

They will battle with Ulinzi Warriors of Kenya, Ferroviario de Beira of Mozambique, and Cobra Sport of South Sudan who made the Elite 16 round via a wild card.

The other Division East group (H1) has Cape Town Tigers (South Africa), New Stars (Burundi), Kurasini Heats (Tanzania), and Matero Magic (Zambia).

City Oilers have to finish among the top three in Division East to qualify for the final tournament to be played next year.

BAL ELITE 16 Draw Results

Group G1

Group G2

Group H1

Group H2

Uganda Men’s national basketball team, Silverbacks, started their preparations for the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers.

The team of home-based players held their first training session on Monday afternoon at African Bible University in Lubowa.

“The session was basically to try to assess the level of the fitness and see how sharp they are from the drills that we have gone through,” Silverbacks coach Mandy Juruni said.

“We were not badly off, it’s just cleaning a few things and overall I think the training has been okay.

“We want to stress our identity and see how we want to play. From day one when we had a team talk, it was basically telling the players that we want to be a quick team, we are going to be a defensive team and we are going to play off that. So for us to be able to do that obviously we have to be well-conditioned and we have to be mentally ready to try and play the way we want to play.

“We are not such a big team so we have got to rely a lot on our defense and quickness.”

Jimmy Enabu, Tonny Drilleba, Ivan Muhwezi, Peter Obleng, Fayed Bbale, Titus Lual, and James Okello were part of the Monday session while Ben Komakech and Abdhakim Ghedi did not turn up.

Uganda’s Silverbacks pair of forward John Deng Geu and head coach George Galanopoulos is set to reunite at Texas Legends.

The development follows Texas Legends’ announcement of signing Deng Geu who has recently been turning out for SC Rasta Vechta in Germany.

The 6’9″ power forward spent three seasons at North Dakota State before moving to the University of North Texas for his final year in College.

Geu went pro in Denmark and played for the Horsens IC during his rookie year where he averaged 12.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists in the 39 games played.

He is part of Uganda’s squad for the upcoming first window of the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers in Benguela, Angola.

Fourteen players have been summoned to start training ahead of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers.

The team will start preparing for the Qualifiers on Friday, 12th November at Africa Bible University in Lubowa before the final 12 is named.

Five foreign-based players have been named on the team including Brandon Davis who is returning to the team since the AfroCan qualifiers hosted in Kampala.

The other four foreign-based players are John Deng Geu, Mohamed Abdihakim Ghedi, Eric Rwahire, and Robinson Opong Odoch, and debutant Emmanuel Timothy Womala who is based in Germany.

Kieran Zziwa, Arthur Kaluma, and Adam Seiko who were part of the Afrobasket squad have not been summoned due to their College engagements while Ishmail Wainright is settling in at Phoenix Suns in the NBA.

The seven local-based players include debutant Ivan Muhwezi, Peter Obleng, and Fayed Baale who have been part of earlier setups. Usual suspects Jimmy Enabu, Tonny Drilleba, Titus Odeke, James Okello, and Ben Komakech complete the local legion.

The Silverbacks will face Mali in their first Group A game on 26th November, before Cape Verde and Nigeria on November 27th and 28th respectively.

Qualification Process

Uganda will have to finish among the top three teams in Group A to advance to the second round.

In the second round, the top three teams from all four groups will be divided into two groups of six teams.

With all results from the previous round carried to the next round, the two best-placed teams from both groups plus the third-placed team with the better record will qualify for the World Cup.

Silverbacks Squad

The first window of the African Qualifiers for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 will be played in Angola, FIBA has confirmed.

“We would like to inform you that the first window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers will be held from November 26 to November 28 in Benguela (Angola),” a letter sent to FUBA, reads in part.

Uganda’s Silverbacks will face Mali in their first Group A game on 26th November, then take on Cape Verde and Nigeria on 27th and 28th November respectively.

Uganda, just like other participating teams, has up to 15th November to submit their Roster for the window.

Meanwhile, the second window of the qualifiers where Uganda will face the same opponents will be played in July 2022 at a yet-to-be-determined venue.

These are qualification pathways to determine the five African teams that will take part in the 2023 FIBA World Cup that will be held in Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines.

Uganda has to finish among the top three teams in the group to advance to the second round of the qualifiers.

At the second round, the top three teams from all four groups will be divided into two groups of six teams.

With all results from the previous round carried to the next round, the two best-placed teams from both groups plus the best third-placed team will qualify for the World Cup.

City Oilers are set for the trip to Dar ss Salaam ahead of the first round of the qualifiers for the 2022 Basketball Africa League.

Head coach Mandy Juruni named a 12-man player squad ahead of their departure on Thursday.

At the tournament, City Oilers will tussle it out with Brave Hearts (Malawi), Kurasini Heat (Tanzania), and New Stars (Burundi) in Group E from 29th-31st October.

The US-based big man of Nigerian descent Jerry Namdi Okonkwo headlines the additions Oilers made that also include John Balwigaire and Titus Lual Odeke.

Abdihakim Ghedi who had been registered to play in the NBL but had not played a single game as he was still in the States is also part of the roster.

Youngsters Luak Ruai and John Dombo make the trip alongside Ceasar Kizito, Ivan Muhwezi, Jimmy Enabu, Tonny Drilleba, Ben Komakech, and James Okello.

Oilers will play three group games, targeting one of the top two places for an automatic place in the Elite 16 round that will be played in November/December.

The Squad: Tonny Drilleba, Jimmy Enabu, Ivan Muhwezi, Ben Komakech, Luak Ruai, Aduhakim Ghedi, Jerry Namdi Okonkwo, James Okello, Titus Odeke Lual, John Balwigaire, John Dombo, Julius Caesar Kizito

City Oilers Fixtures

Namuwongo Blazers have announced the signing of Joseph Ikong.

The veteran forward joins Blazers after being released by seven-time National Basketball League champions City Oilers recently.

Ikong adds experience to an already stuffed roster as the league freshers look to establish themselves in the top-flight basketball division in the country.

Ikong who started out at Makerere Youth Heaters has previously played for Power Basketball Club, winning three league titles with the side.

He has featured for the national team (Silverbacks) for years.

Ishmail Wainright has joined last season’s NBA finalists Phoenix Suns, the club announced on Thursday night.

The development comes just a day after the Ugandan forward was waived by Toronto Raptors.

Wainright averaged 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game in Summer League and impressed during the preseason for the Raptors.

The small forward took to twitter to express his delight after joining the Suns.

The 2019 NBA Champions Toronto Raptors announced they had waived Ishmail Wainright on Sunday.

Wainright’s meant that Raptors opted to keep Sam Dekker and Isaac Bonga to fill the vacant two slots to complete the roster of 15 players.

Despite the decision, the small forward who had a strong showing during the Summer League and Preseason games remains positive.

The Silverbacks star took to Twitter to express his feelings.

“First and foremost I just want to thank the entire front office, coaching staff, down to the trainers and medical staff with the Raptors for everything,” said Wainright via Twitter.

“And to the fans, thank yall for the love and support. This is just the beginning. One door closes, another one will open.”

Wainright had signed with the Raptors as a free agent in the summer having spent three seasons in France and Germany after completing College at Baylor.

Ugandan champions City Oilers have learnt their opponents at the first round of the qualifiers for the Basketball Africa League (BAL) 2022.

Oilers were pitted in Group E alongside Bravehearts of Malawi, Kurusani Heats (Tanzania), and Burundian side New Stars.

The games will be played in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam from 26th-31st October 2021.

Meanwhile, there are five other groups in which teams will be battling to get to the second and final round of the qualifiers.

BAL 2022 Qualification Groups

WEST Division

Group A (Conakry, October 26-31)

Group B (Conakry, October 26-31)

Group C (Yaounde, October 26-31)

EAST Division

Group D (Dar es Salaam, October 26-31)

Group E (Dar es Salaam, October 26-31)

Group F (Johannesburg, October 19-24)