Champions: Uganda U18 teams triumphant at Zone V Qualifiers

The Uganda U18 Boys (Junior Silverbacks) and Girls (Junior Gazelles) both emerged triumphant at the FIBA U18 African Championship Zone V Qualifiers, both having defeated Rwanda in their different categories at the finals. The teams who were both unbeaten in each of their 5 games secured their tickets to the FIBA U18 African championship that…

2bob Sports

June 17, 2024

3–5 minutes

fiba, FIBA U18 African championship Zone V Qualifiers, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, uganda

The teams who were both unbeaten in each of their 5 games secured their tickets to the FIBA U18 African championship that shall be happening in August in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Junior Gazelles were the first to bag their ticket having after defeating Rwanda 82:32.

The Junior Gazelles meant business from the start and after the first quarter, they had taken a 14-point lead.

At the half time break, they had made it a 17-poing game and despite attempts for Rwanda to make a run in the second half, they did not have enough offensive fire power and Uganda ran away with the win.

Shiphrah Kiranda had a double-double 18 points, 12 rebounds while Resty Nanangwe had 21 points, her 5th consecutive 20-point game of the tournament.

Rwanda’s duo Brigitte Nabishaka (13 points, 17 rebounds) and Rebecca Cyuzuzo (12 points, 12 rebounds) both had a double-double.

The Boy’s finals was filled with a lot of tension tor both teams and sets of fans and it went down to the final 2 minutes.

In Coach Mavita’s words, ” This is one of the most electric finals and games we have watched in the Zone V, so much talent, speed, hunger, and composure. I don’t think we have seen such a finals for the U18 before”.

Having defeated Rwanda 78:49 earlier in the week, the fans expected it to be a walk in the park just like the Girls game but Rwanda brought the game to Uganda.

Uganda led 19:17 after the first quarter but the tables turned around in the second and Rwanda led the game 34:29 at the half-time break.

FUBA President Nasser Serunjogi, National Team Committee Chairperson Mohammed Ghedi Santur and Silverbacks Team Manager Albert Ahabwe were all seen heading to the locker room to give some encouragement to the boys at halftime and whatever they said seemed to have yielded positive results.

Uganda limited Rwanda to just 4 points in the first 5 minutes of the third period and they scored 10 which game them a 1-point lead.

Rwanda then had their moment in the fourth quarter, Kayijuka Lebson was unstoppable as he kept attacking Uganda’s basket. Rwanda had a 4-point lead as the final 5 minutes approached but it was the foul trouble that made them lose the game.

Uganda capitalized on this and they went to line very many times and despite not converting everything, they stayed alive, picked up offensive rebounds and scored crucial second-chance points.

Tejan Rugette came up big in the final minutes of the game, for Uganda. He was orchestrating every move for and he scored very important points down the stretch.

He was also named the MVP of the tournament thanks to his top performances during the tournament .

Uganda had 4 players in double-digit scores in the finals, Edrine Ekau (13 pts), Tejan Rugette (5 pts) while the unsung heroes Peter Serunjogi (15 pts, 10 reb, 8 blk) and Gideon Ekukwai (14 pts, 12 reb) each completed a double-double.

Rwanda’s Dylan Lebson Kayijuka finished with a game-high 26 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals.

Uganda’s Coach Andrew Tendo’s remarks about the finals

“They made very good adjustments for the finals and they gave us a big fight because there defensive skills were effective but our boys picked up the game and we managed to go over the hump”

He also commented on the readiness of the team for the African Championship in South Africa.

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“We have to prepare for South Africa. We have to put up a good show in South Africa and the preparations start tomorrow (Saturday)”

The MVP Tejan Rugette also had some remarks after the game;

“It was an overall team effort when you play hard. I’m thankful to my teammates for putting me in a position to score. It was a tough game but we got it and we are happy”

“Coaches gave us strict instructions and i feel that we executed. Coaches were very good with keeping us hot and we had a very deep team and we were able to play everyone and everyone played the same”

About what next after the preparation, Joel had some interesting comments.