Peter Tabu
Basketball: Uganda’s men and women’s national 3X3 basketball teams traveled to Lome, Togo on Wednesday for the second edition of the FIBA 3X3 Africa Cup in high spirit.
Uganda is third and first in the men and women basketball rankings.
Speaking at the flag off ceremony in Kampala, Grace Kwizera the FUBA VP of Communications and Marketing revealed that the team was fully funded by the government.
“A big thank you to Government for the support. Our 3X3 program is robust and in our quest of qualifying for the 2020 Olympics we believe such tournaments prepare the players,” Kwizera said.
“We promise to do our best.”
Uganda finished eighth and third for the men and women respectively in 2017 and will hope to perform better. The Gazelles are in pool A along with Cape Verde and Ghana while the men will tussle it out with Nigeria and Cape Verde.
A total of 12 teams will compete at the second edition which Togo is also hosting for a second time.
The Gazelles, which comprises locally based players Jamila Nansikombi (JKL), Ritah Imanishimwe (JKL), Sarah Ageno (UCU) and Hope Akello (JKL) will tip off against Cape Verde on Friday, before taking on Ghana later in the day.
The men will have to wait until the next day to face Cape Verde in the early tipoff and later on Nigeria.
City Oilers’ James Okello and Tony Drilleba, Mark Opiyo Okidi of Pemba Warriors as well as Power’s Athieu Madol are the men who will try and make magic happen.
Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Gambia, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Seychelles, Tanzania are the other teams to take part.
Ambrose Tashobya will lead the delegation.
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