FIBA Zone V Women’s Afrobasket Qualifiers
Wednesday Results
South Sudan 54-40 Rwanda
Egypt 85-86 Uganda
Thursday Fixtures
*5 PM – Kenya vs Rwanda
*7: 30 PM – Uganda vs South Sudan
Uganda women’s national basketball team, the Gazelles posted one of the biggest wins in the nation’s basketball history after they beat Egypt 85-86 during matchday two of the FIBA Zone V Women’s Afrobasket Qualifiers currently going on at the MTN Arena in Lugogo, Kampala.
Uganda who lost their opening game against Kenya on Tuesday showed character and bravery against the Egyptians and managed to recover from the first quarter loss to take the day.
Egypt took the first quarter with a margin of 28-22 but managed to win the second quarter 10-28 to post an overall 38-50 lead after two quarters.
Egypt were seemingly recovering in the third quarter and reduced Uganda’s lead to eight points (60-72) after the third quarter. However, the hosts refused to surrender the lead and snapped the win with the slimmest of margins after posting 85-86 at full time.
Jannon Otto stood out for the home side shooting a double-double of 27 points and 14 rebounds. Hope Akello had 14 points and 11 rebounds whilst Brenda Ekone posted 13 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Gazelles Captain Flavia Oketcho and Ritah Imanishimwe returned 10 and eight points respectively.
For Egypt, Raneem Elgadawy led the way with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Meral Andelgawad shot 12 points and 11 rebounds while Nadine Mohammad and Soraya Deghady contributed 17 points each.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, South Sudan beat Rwanda 54-40 to get off the mark in the tournament. The victory was the the first ever competitive win for the South Sudan women’s basketball team. It came in their sixth attempt.
South Sudan will take on hosts Uganda in the final game of the day on Thursday. Both sides have picked a win each from two games and will seek to maintain their winning run.
Uganda should triumph against South Sudan today and Rwanda (Saturday) if they’re to feature in the Sunday’s final that can earn them a ticket to the event proper.
However, the Gazelles are seeking to make their third appearance on the continent after debuting in 1997 and at the 2015 edition in Cameroon. They bounce back into contention for a place having missed out on the previous edition due to lack of funds.
This year’s FIBA Zone V Afrobasket finals will be held in July in Kigali, Rwanda.
