Silverbacks finally home after Covid-19 ordeal

The last batch of the national basketball team contingent that had been retained in Monastir, Tunisia to undergo quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19 returned home this week.

Five members of the Silverbacks were found to have the virus hours before tip-off of the Fiba Afrobasket qualifying game against Egypt on February 18.

Soon after, the Federation of Uganda Basketball Associations (Fuba) made arrangements to have those who were found positive get treatment in Tunisia. The rest left the port city on February 20.

“Everyone is back at their respective places,” Fuba president Nasser Sserunjogi confirmed. “By Sunday, March 7, everyone was out of Tunis.”

Daily Monitor learnt that the last member of the team got home on Tuesday.

While the bulk of the team is local-based, some of the players and technical team reside in the USA, Denmark, Canada and France. Last week, Silverbacks learnt that their qualifiers have since been rescheduled to the June 15-July 15, 2021 window.

“…the pending Group E Uganda games, Uganda - Egypt, Morocco - Uganda and Cape Verde - Uganda, will be played between June 15 and July 15, 2021 at a venue to be decided,” a Fiba statement reads in part.

“It is a huge relief for us. We are delighted and excited about the opportunity to compete again. We are confident that our team will qualify and be in Kigali, come August and what is important now is that we have been given an opportunity to play our games,” discerned Sserunjogi. 

On the brink 

Ever Close: Uganda need one win from the three games against Egypt, Morocco and Cape Verde to make the Afrobasket for a third straight edition. Silverbacks have five points.

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