Uganda’s national women’s cricket team, Victoria Pearls will play for bronze at the 13th African Games on Wednesday when they take on Nigeria.

The Victoria Pearls failed to go past South Africa in the semifinals as they fell to a huge 50-run defeat on Monday afternoon.

Consy Aweko won the toss and asked South Africa to bat but her decision was not backed in the field as the team conceded many singles and didn’t use the half chances.

South Africa managed to score 122 runs in their 20 over despite losing four wickets, one of which was Aweko’s 100th in WT20i.

The run chase for Uganda didn’t get off to a good start as Immaculate Nakisuyi went for cheap. Gloria Abukor and Esther Iloku tried to keep up with the scoring rate with some good running between the wickets but the boundaries didn’t come as the asking rate kept climbing.

Just after the power play, Uganda couldn’t hold and lost three wickets for cheap dropping to 33/4 and from thereon, the mountain became so high for the rest of the line-up eventually getting cleaned out at 72.

Nigeria who are Uganda’s opponents in the bronze medal match lost to Zimbabwe.

Uganda duo Gladys Mbabazi and Husinah Kobugabe clinched the first badminton medal in the ongoing 2023 African Games on Sunday.

The achievement was reached in the entertaining game that was played in the multipurpose

Uganda secured a 2-0 victory that posted a perfect show in the tight game played for 33 minutes.

Mbabazi and Kobugabe showed great class and chemistry as they registered a 23-21 lead after the first quarter.

At one point the game tied 19-19 before 20-20 and 21-21 however the period came to an end as Uganda carried a two-point lead 23-21.

Going into the second set, Uganda established a two-point for the most time in the period.

At the end of the period, it was a seven-point victory for Uganda at the end of the game.

Uganda has had a fair performance at the ongoing tournament with seven medals (one gold, three silver and three bronze).

• National Basketball – Results
• Magic Stormers 52-75 UCU Lady Canons

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.

• National Basketball League | Results
• JKL Lady Dolphins 75-68 UCU Lady Canons

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.

Pre-tournament favourite Peace Kabasweka scored 3-over 74 on the opening day of the 2024 Entebbe Ladies Open at the par-71 Entebbe Golf Club on Thursday.

The Uganda Ladies Open winner who also won this very tournament in 2022 has a three-stroke lead over Melon Kyomugisha after the opening 18 holes.

Meanwhile, Judith Komugisha (81) in third place is 7 shots shy from the leader and in fourth position after 18 holes is Harriet Kitaka who scored 11-over 82.

Bernadette Musanabera, playing off handicap 11 and Cathy Kwagala (Handicap 14) are joint-tied for fifth with 84 gross apiece.

In the men’s category, scratch golfer Elton Thembo scored 1-under 70 for the lead on Day One.

Cosmas Ociti (Handicap 6) is level par while Joseph Cwinya-ai scored 2-over 73 to complete the top three.

On Day Two, the pressure group of Kabasweka, Komugisha and Kyomugisha will tee off at 12:40 pm while Thembo, Ociti and Cwinyaai tee off at 11:50 am.

Entebbe Club is set to host the Entebbe Ladies Open from Thursday, February 29 to Saturday, March 2. The Ladies Open is an annual and prestigious event that attracts golfers from within the country as well as across the border.

While speaking to the press, Entebbe Golf Club lady captain, Jovia Tugume promised a great experience during the tournament since the preparations have set the place to meet international standards.

“The Entebbe Ladies Open will give golfers a good opportunity to test the course. We have asked the technical team to set up the course to the level of Uganda Open,” she stated.

“I encourage all ladies to come and participate in this prestigious event, and I promise that Entebbe Club will put on a good show,” she added.

The Entebbe Ladies Open is a World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) event for both the lady gross players and the men gross players.

The tournament provides a golden opportunity to earn ranking points thus improving their status in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

According to Tugume, the tournament organisers expect to accommodate over 200 golfers competing in different categories. Ladies Group A category will play over three days and the Ladies Categories B will play for two days.

For men, the gross amateurs will play over three days while the subsidiary category will play on the final day of the tournament.

This will be the 14^th edition of the tournament.

It has seen seven previous winners such as Jasper Kamukama (Uganda, 2011), Flavia Namakula (Uganda, 2012), Iddi Madina (Tanzania, 2013), Monica Ntege (Uganda, 2014), Irene Nakalembe (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2021), Peace Kabasweka (2022) and the defending champion is Martha Babirye (2023).

AfroBasket Qualifiers – Uganda’s Results

• Cape Verde 78-73 Uganda
• Uganda 72-62 Nigeria
• Libya 71-59 Uganda

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

• KIU Rangers 81-53 UPDF Lady Tomahawks

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.

Ronald Rugumayo made history on Friday, February 23 as he became the first Ugandan to make the cut at a DP World Tour event.

It was a priceless moment for the 31-year-old as he birdied the final hole during the second round of the Magical Kenya Open at the Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi.

“There are no words that I can use to express how I feel,” said Rugumayo.

“I’m so grateful for Kenyans, my fellow Ugandans who flew all the way (to watch me). Honestly, it’s not about me as a player, it’s not about Uganda, it’s about East Africa. Everything I’m doing, I’m doing for East Africa.”

This is Mayo’s third go at the Magical Kenya Open as a professional, but he participated in the 2017 edition as an amateur.

Last season, he also became the first Ugandan to hit a hole-in-one in the DP World Tour.

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.