Robinson Opong answered the call yet again, putting in preposterous performance to help the Uganda Silverbacks defeat Nigeria and secure their first victory at the 2025 Afrobasket Qualifiers.

Uganda led from the get go creating a 5 point lead after the first quarter.

Despite Nigeria being very poor offensively, they kept within touching distance and at the end of the first half, the gap had increased to 10.

Robinson Opong carried Uganda offense in the third quarter scoring 21 of Uganda’s 26 in that quarter.

He made 4 consecutive 3 point shots and only missed out in that quarter.  He also drew multiple fouls and was sent to the Free throw line 9 times and he made all of them count.

The Silverbacks scored 8 unanswered points in the first 4 minutes of the game and increased their lead to 19.

In the end, the Silverbacks managed to secure a 72:62 win and it will give them momentum heading into the final fixture against Libya on Sunday.

Talking points

1. Cheat Code and team contributions

Uganda has a cheat code in Robinson Opong.  He has scored 64 points in 2 games and he’s the only one with a double double.

Even though Opong is very good, the other cast around him has not been consistent in the 2 games. Tonny Drileba and Adam Seiko who had recorded double digits against Cape Verde were mostly quiet against Nigeria with Drileba having 0 points. A few other people stepped up a little bit,  Titus, Womala, Ivan all putting up some points on board.

However, none was razor sharp like Opong and to tear down Libya, it may be down to how many players can put up big numbers offensively.

2. Lack of killer instinct

Nigeria was very poor moreso in the first half but Uganda couldn’t finish them off.

Nigeria missed, from the 3 point line, the Free throw line even in the paint with easy layups and despite all that, they were within touching distance (10 points) at half time.

Uganda had very many opportunities to capitalise on Nigeria’s lack of sharpness but for some reason, we couldn’t peel away and always left a window for a possible comeback.

As the team goes in the final game, they ought to be ruthless when an opportunity presents itself. It will be very key for Uganda to have 2 wins heading into the second window and finishing off a game early could be a key issue against Libya.

3 point shots

Robinson Opong buried 8 of those and that goes to show you how much Uganda has exploited that avenue. The others players need to step up and also become threats from beyond the arc. This could draw out the defense to the perimeter and create some openings for our big guys to exploit the inside.

Match Stats

Robinson Opong 39 pts, 10 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl

Emmanuel Timothy Womala 9 pts, 3 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl

Adam Seiko 7 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast

Titus Odeke 6 pts, 1 reb

Brandon Sebirumbi 6 pts, 9 reb, 1 reb

Uganda plays Libya in their last games on Sunday at 16:00 and a victory will be very much needed to go into the second window with an upper hand.