The FIBA U16 African Championship has been on going in Monastir, Tunisia and a number of youngsters from Uganda have caught the eyes of many scouts and basketball administrators around the world.

The Women’s team was able to make the quarter finals but fell to Angola in a 6 point game that was mainly decided in the third quarter as the Angolans took it 20:7 getting a 9 point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

They went on defeat Rwanda in a 21 point game but losing out to Morocco to finish 6th. The game was very tight but when the Moroccans got that 10 point lead, they didn’t look back.

The Men’s team failed to make it to the playoffs, winning just one of their group games against Morocco and losing once again to Tunisia 68:65 for the 9the place playoff, in a tight contest that was decided in the final 2 minutes.

Despite Uganda not performing very highly, they had some of the most outstanding individual displays with top scorers and top rebounders.

The biggest prodigy of the tournament was Tejan Joel Rugette who tops the scorers charts and has put up exceptional performances to try to help Uganda progress in the games.

During the Zone V qualifiers in Rwanda, he single handedly destroyed the hosts, and averaged a double double of 24 points and 11.5 rebounds plus 3.5 assists in the tourney.

Coming to Tunisia, he was looked at as the main source of offense and he certainly did not disappoint. He dropped a 33 points, 10 rebounds double double in Uganda’s first game against Chad despite Uganda losing out.

He was also in beast mode against Morocco and led Uganda to their only victory. He dropped another double double with 35 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.

He’s leading the scoring at the tournament with 26.6 PPG, 5.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.4 steals.

He has exhibited top level IQ of basketball, craftiness, creativity, leadership and ability to make his teammates better.

Harry Tindebya is another one that has been impressive for the Junior Silverbacks. He has been able to contribute on both ends of the floor averaging 10 points, 5.2 rebs, 2.6 asst and 2.4 steals.

Aine Christian Turyahabwe is another kid with immense potential. He’s time and again been the second scorer and using his height effectively to pick the rebounds.

He’s averaged 10.6 points, 7 rebounds and 2.8 steals on top of being the most efficient scorer for the lads. He registered a double double against Chad with 13points and 13 rebounds plus 5 steals.

The Junior Gazelles are a star studded team and no wonder they were able to make the quarter finals.

Kibuli S.S star, Shiphrah Kiranda is among the few who average a double double at the tourney and she’s been the heart to all the team’s performances. She has posted 3 double doubles in the 6 games with an average of 12.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3 steals.

Modesta Anyango has been central to all the attacks of the team. She also averages a double double and she’s 3rd on the scoring charts with 19.2 PPG, 10.5 reb (6th), 2.3 assists and 5 steals.

She’s had spectacular games and numbers. Against Guinea, she scored 28 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and an implausible 9 steals.

She also dropped 26 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals against Morocco in the 5th place playoff.

Angella Auma who is among the leaders of the team and plays for Magic Stormers showed off her NBL experience on the international scene. She averaged 13.8 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2 APG and 3.2 SPG.

She also had a couple monstrous performance, dropping 29 pts, 8 rebs, 4 stls, 3 stls against Guinea where she also made 7 3-point shots. She posted 21 pts, 11 rebs , 5 ast and 4 stls.

The Captain Husnah Namagembe didn’t go off as much offensively but was very much alive on the defensive. She also brought composure, calmness and experience to the team. She averaged 2.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.3 steals.

The U16 youngsters have proved that they have huge potential that needs to harnessed. The players have potentially high ceiling qnd if FUBA manages to grow and keep them around, the Future of Ugandan basketball is in great hands.

Women’s Results

Tunisia 74:50 Uganda

Guinea 50:89 Uganda

Uganda 25:78 Egypt

Uganda 58:64 Angola (Quarterfinals)

Rwanda 44:65 Uganda (placement)

Uganda 56:65 Morocco (5th place playoff)

Men’s results

Chad 91:70 Uganda

Uganda 48:116 Egypt

Uganda 85:80 Morocco

Guinea 100:52 Uganda

Tunisia 68:65 Uganda