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Uganda Men’s National Basketball Team (Silverbacks) lost to Guinea 88-47 in their last game of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers.

Going into Sunday’s game, the Silverbacks had lost to Angola (82-49) and Ivory Coast (89-44) earlier.

Like the game against Angola, Uganda went toe-to-toe with Guinea in the first half but later ran out of steam as the game progressed and in the fourth quarter, they scored just two points.

Guinea benefited from Uganda’s poor display in the second half to top the game.

Cheick Sekou did the biggest damage to Uganda, shooting 10-of-14 from the field for a game-high 25 points to go with 10 rebounds. Ibrahim Fofana scored 11 points.

For the Silverbacks, it was Titus Lual (12 points) and Ceaser Kizito (10 points) who scored in double figures while forward James Okello finished with 8 points and 9 rebounds.

The Silverbacks end the campaign with just one win (against Cape Verde) in 10 games and bottom of Group E.

Cape Verde beat Cote d’Ivoire 79-64 in the last game to book the last and fifth African qualification slot to the World Cup.

Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, and South Sudan are the other African nations that qualified for the World Cup in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia scheduled for 25th August to 10th September 2023.

Uganda Silverbacks suffered an 82-49 defeat to Angola as the last window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifiers got underway in Luanda.

The Silverbacks, made up of nine home-based players, had no preparations prior to the three-day event and arrived in Angola on Game Day but gave a very good account in the first half of the game.

Neither team could find the basket in the opening three minutes of the first quarter but later the game opened up and Angola had a 10-point (19-9) lead at the end of the period.

The Silverbacks started the second quarter strong and took the lead (23-21) midway through the period through Peter Pbleng’s pair of free throws before the hosts regrouped to lead 34-28 going into the halftime break.

On return from the long interval, the short-handed Silverbacks were put under immense pressure with the man-to-man and full-court press that Angola employed defensively and the wheels started to fall off.

The Silverbacks were forced into nine turnovers in the third quarter and limited to just 10 points as Angola took charge of the game the rest of the way.

Fayed Baale scored a team-high 15 points for Uganda and Peter Obleng had an efficient 11 points off the bench in 17 minutes.

Childe Dundao (16 points), Gerson Goncalves (12) and Antonio Monteiro (10) scored in double figures for Angola who got at least 3 points from all the 12 players that stepped on the floor.

The Silverbacks will play Cote d’Ivoire on Saturday before completing their schedule against Guinea on Sunday.

Melissa Akullu scooped two major awards in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) as she took home both the Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

The Ugandan centre dominated on both ends of the floor throughout the season, becoming the 11th Vanguard player to be named Player of the Year. Akullu was the only GSAC player to average a double-double at 18.2 points and 11.1 rebounds per game.

She led the conference in rebounds and field goal percentage (58.5) while ranking fourth in scoring (18.2 ppg), tied for sixth in steals (2.0 spg) and fifth in blocks (1.0 big).

Akullu produced 14 double-doubles, including a career-high 40-point and 14-rebound effort that helped garner her NAIA National Player of the Week accolades in late January. She pulled down a career-best 21 rebounds in a win over Jessup on 1st December.

Akullu scored 20-plus points on 11 occasions and poured in 30-plus three times. She collected four GSAC Player of the Week awards – second-most all-time in one season at Vanguard University.

Her 286 total rebounds ranks at No. 8 on the school’s single-season list, and her .585 field goal percentage places her ninth. Defensively, she menaced opposing players, tallying four or more steals in six games.

The postseason for Akullu and Vanguard, the No. 2 seed in the GSAC Tournament, starts on Friday, 24th February against either third-seeded Menlo or No. 6 Arizona Christian in semifinal action.

Jane Asinde‘s superb play of late has landed her on the American Athletic Conference (ACC) Weekly Honour Roll.

The Ugandan power forward scored a career-high 27 points to go with 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals in Wichita State’s only game last week vs. Tulsa.

During the 84-68 win over Tulsa, the former JKL Lady Dolphins star went 10-of-18 from the field. She has a team-high 10 double-doubles this season and has scored 20 or more in three straight games.

This is the third time this season that the American Athletic Conference has named Asinde on the team of the week.

Asinde has played 24 games this season (starting all) and is averaging 13.3 points and 10.8 rebounds for Wichita State Shockers who are 5-8 in conference play and 15-11 overall.

ACC Honour Roll

Uganda Women’s National Basketball Team, the Gazelles, missed a chance to qualify for the 2023 FIBA Women Afrobasket after falling to Egypt in the Zone V Qualifiers final on Sunday at the MTN Arena.

The Gazelles, needing a win to qualify for Afrobasket in Kigali, lost 74-65 in front of a capacity crowd.

Uganda trailed right from tip-off but had leads in the second and third quarters. They, however, failed to find the legs to go a distance.

Raneem Elgedawy racked up 19 points and 12 rebounds, Radwa Salem added 16 and the experienced Soraya Deghady contributed 11 points to the victory.

Brenda Ekone scored 17 of her game-high 25 points in the first two quarters to give the Gazelles a fighting chance, but the side failed to sustain the effort in the second half.

Jannon Otto finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists.

The loss means Gazelles can only get to AfroBasket through a wild card.

Sunday, February 18

Fixtures | Tuesday, 14th February

Uganda’s National Women’s Basketball Team for the Zone V AfroBasket Qualifiers has been named.

Three players in Zainah Lokwameri (JT Jaguars), Agatha Kamwanda (UCU Lady Canons) and Peruth Nyamwenge (KIU Rangers) have been dropped.

KCCA wing Leticia Awor, Shakirah Nanvubya, Bridget Aber and youngster Shilla Lamunu make the team and will be joined by Jannon Otto who is expected to fly in tonight.

United States-based Maria Najjuma joined the team Sunday.

Uganda will face Kenya in their opening game while South Sudan and Egypt meet in the first. game of the day.

Final Squad – Evelyn Nakiyingi (JKL), Shakira Nanvubya (UCU), Flavia Oketcho (JKL), Ritah Imanishimwe (JKL), Ekone Brenda (JKL), Shilla Lamunu (Magic Stormers), Leticia Awor (KCCA Leopards), Akello Hope (JKL), Bridget Aber (UCU), Sarah Ageno (JT Lady Jaguars), Jannon Otto (Luxembourg), Maria Najjuma (United States).

Eight-time National Basketball League champions City Oilers have learnt their Basketball Africa League (BAL) 2023 regular season opponents.

Oilers who will be making their debut at the BAL were placed in Nile Conference alongside Al Ahly (Egypt), Cape Town Tigers (South Africa), Ferroviario Beira (Mozambique), Petro De Luanda (Angola) and SLAU (Guinea).

The Nile Conference’s group phase will take place at Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo from 26th April to 6th May.

The other conference (Sahara) has Abidjan BC (Cote D’Ivoire) Kwara Falcons (Nigeria), Stade Malien (Mali), AS Douanes (Senegal), REG (Rwanda) and US Monastir (Tunisia).

The Sahara Conference’s group phase will take place at the Dakar Arena in Dakar Senegal from 11th-21st March.

The top four teams from each conference will qualify for the BAL Playoffs and Finals, which will feature a single-elimination tournament at BK Arena in Kigali from 21st to 27th May.

Melissa Akullu guided Vanguard Lions to victory over The Masters in a gridlocked game played at OCC Gym on Saturday night.

The Ugandan centre scored a game-high 12 points to go with 10 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 blocks as the number 12 ranked Lions beat the Mustangs 41-32 in a low-scoring game.

It was the lowest number of total points for the season in a countable game for either side, but Akullu’s Vanguard showed determination in the second half and emerged victorious.

The Lions outscored the Mustangs 24-10 over the final two quarters to win the game, taking them to 20-4 overall and 13-3 in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC).

The Masters drops to 16-8 overall and 9-7 in GSAC action. Akullu to bounced back after struggling during the 53-50 win against Westmont on Thursday.

Vanguard who have won nine straight games will conclude the season with two away games, with San Diego Christian up first on Thursday, February 16.

Loughborough Lightning started their 2023 Netball Superleague season with success on Saturday as they defeated Team Bath at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena on Saturday.

Lightning recorded a convincing 86-52 victory thanks to a flying start with the opening centre pass quickly converted to the first point on the board as shooters Emman Thacker (GA) and Mary Nuba Cholhok (GS) impressed.

Lightning quickly reached a 23-13 lead after the first quarter and it was clear Team Bath which had four debutants were in for a tough outing.

Team Bath worked tirelessly not to allow their opponent’s lead to stretch far away but Loughborough started the third quarter with nine unanswered goals to lead 52-32 and there was no way back.

Cholhok scored 50 goals and missed just 4 shots.

Lightning returns to the court at Loughborough University for round two against Celtic Dragons on Saturday, 18th February.

Loughborough’s Starting 7

The fixtures for the 2023 Netball World Cup have been released.

Uganda’s She Cranes who will be taking part in their fourth world and making a third consecutive appearance are in Group D alongside New Zealand, Singapore and Trinidad & Tobago.

As per the schedule for the tournament that is due from 28th July to 6th August 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa, the She Cranes will start against Singapore on Friday, 28th July.

On Saturday, 29th July the Esat Africans will be up against tournament favourites New Zealand before battling Trinidad & Tobago on Sunday, 30th July.

Uganda needs to finish among the top in the group to advance to the second stage of the competition for a chance to play for the semifinals.

She Cranes Fixtures | Group Stage