Afrobasket ticket on the line for Gazelles

The Uganda Gazelles have already played four games at the ongoing Fiba Zone V Afrobasket Qualifiers in Cairo, Egypt, but Saturday’s final against the hosts will determine whether they qualify or miss out on the continental showpiece.

With a 3-1 record after the round robin format of play, the Gazelles are second on the five-team log and must beat Egypt, who are top with a 4-0 record, to book the sole automatic ticket available.

Nicholas Natuhereza’s charges defeated Burundi 66-30 on Thursday to end a run of four games in four days and go into a much-needed rest day on Friday.

The close 65-62 loss to Egypt on Tuesday is the only blemish on the team’s record thus far, and avenging that defeat in the final will be on top of the agenda for the Gazelles.

Wins over Kenya and South Sudan confirmed Uganda’s place in the final and that must have been in the minds of the Gazelles at the start of the clash with Burundi.

Burundi, who are the tournament’s weakest side, put up a fight at the start of the game but Uganda regrouped for an easy win in the end.

“We had a slow start and that’s maybe people thinking that we had already done the job,” Natuhereza said after Thursday’s victory.

Jamila Nansikombi, who struggled in her first two games for the team, came alive against Burundi, scoring 14 points and collecting six rebounds.

Eyes on the prize

Like was the case in the 2023 qualifiers held in Kampala, Uganda and Egypt will face off in the final to determine the winner.

Then, Egypt silenced the Lugogo crowd, winning the final 74-65 to directly qualify for the finals that were hosted in Kigali, Rwanda.

Uganda was then awarded a wild card to the finals following an epic display throughout the qualifiers.

At the finals, however, Uganda performed better than the North African side by finishing seventh, with Egypt ending the campaign in ninth place.

Clashes between the two sides have always been close, and Saturday’s final will be expected to be as closely contested as the game played on Tuesday.

But with both Melissa Akullu and Nansikombi, who missed the first game against Kenya, getting into their rhythm, the Gazelles will have options to go pound for pound against the hosts.

Egypt will be backed by the partisan home crowd but Jane Asinde and Paige Robinson have already showed that they can go against any sort of adversity.

Asinde, the Gazelles captain, is averaging 18.8 points 9.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists, making her one of the contenders for the MVP gong.

Robinson, on the other hand, is averaging 15.8 points, three rebounds and three assists in the competition.

With the team already scaling the height of the last qualifiers, the task is now on taking a step forward and the reward is a ticket to the July 25-August 3 finals in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. 

Fiba Zone V Afrobasket Qualifiers

Final (Saturday)

Egypt vs. Uganda, 7pm