Silverbacks count on depth, Wainright still stands out
Notes: Enabu (L) and Drileba (R) listen to coach George Galanopoulos.
What you need to know:
- Losing to Morocco would hurt both the team’s chances of going to the finals and the pockets of the national team committee to facilitate a trip to Cape Verde for a final chance on July 15.
- FIBA Afrobasket, July 8: Morocco vs. Uganda, 9pm.
The Silverbacks go to war against Morocco tomorrow for a ticket to the Afrobasket next month in Kigali, Rwanda.
The first window held in Egypt in 2020 was dominated by forward Ishmail Wainright who averaged 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
The France-based player has, however, missed the large part of the team camp that moved from Cairo to Rabat having only arrived in Morocco yesterday.
“He will integrate with the guys,” assistant coach Mandy Juruni argues. Wainright will only have two sessions with the team before tomorrow’s game.
“He has played with these guys and has been competing all this time,” Juruni adds. The 26-year old was excused from the camp in Cairo having only completed his season with SIG Strasbourg.
The hope for the team is that all players chip in with great performances to send Uganda to a third straight continental showpiece.
More debuts
Arthur Kaluma, who was part of the team in Monastir early this year, will be playing his first game for Uganda alongside latest recruits Kieran Zziwa and Abdihakim Ghedi Mohamed. Robinson Opong, Eric Rwahwire and Deng Geu are the other foreign based players George Galanopoulos and his coaching team will be counting on for big performances. Jimmy Enabu, Tonny Drileba, Titus Lual, Ben Komakech and James Okello are the others who must fight to close out the qualifiers in Morocco.
Losing to Morocco would hurt both the team’s chances of going to the finals and the pockets of the national team committee to facilitate a trip to Cape Verde for a final chance on July 15.
