No full house yet as Silverbacks prepare for Fiba WC Qualifiers

The Silverbacks left for Egypt last Friday and have already had some days of training.
Only four players, Jimmy Enabu, Tony Drileba, James Okello and Ivan Muhwezi, made the cut from the National Basketball League.

The four had initially been joined by two foreign based players, Deng Geu and Emmanuel Womala in Alexandria.

Kieran Zziwa arrived on Wednesday while brothers Arthur Kaluma and Adam Seiko are expected to touch base in Alexandria tonight. Jonathan Komagum arrived yesterday afternoon. It is expected that some of the players will only be able to join the team in Kigali, Rwanda for the 2023 Fiba World Cup Qualifiers.

“Some guys still have commitments so we haven’t got everyone on time,” Silverbacks manager Albert Ahabwe told Monitor.

Robinson Opong and Phoenix Suns forward Ishmail Wainwright are only expected to join the team in Kigali, Rwanda.

Confidence high

Head Coach George Galanopolous, however, remains confident the team will be in a good shape heading to Kigali.

“We are very excited to be back with the team and preparations are going on well,” the tactician said.

“The guys that are already here have been competing at a high level and we are looking to have the entire team together and prepare to move closer to qualifying for the World Cup,” he added.
Captain Jimmy Enabu (Pictured) also believes the preparations are a step in the right direction considering the team has gone into the last two events without proper training.

“We are trying to work hard and prepare regardless of the numbers,” he said.
“So far, so good. We are going with the momentum that we need to prepare for the games,” he added.

The Silverbacks will face Mali on July 1, Cape Verde the next day and Nigeria thereafter.
Ranked sixth in Africa after last year’s FIBA Afrobasket, the team must be in the top five after the qualifiers to make the 2023 FIBA World Cup.