Melissa Akullu and Jamila ‘Zama’ Nansinkombi joined the Gazelles in Cairo, Egypt ahead of the duel against Egypt.

The pair joined the camp on the morning of Tuesday, 4th February, and are expected to be ready for the game against the Egyptians.

The duo brings a lot of experience (at a high level) and also size which wasn’t as profound in the opener against Kenya.

Melissa was a key piece for the Gazelles during the 2023 Afrobasket in Rwanda and she’s expected to pick up multiple rebounds and cause problems in the opposition paint.

Melissa was the third best player (statistically) for Uganda at the 2023 Afrobasket.

She played averaged 28.1 minutes (second), 9.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and a whooping 52.3% FG.

It has been a while since Zama represented the National team but in the time she did, she managed to represent at very high levels including the 3×3 U23 World Cup.

A lot of Ugandans are excited and eager to see her in action and most were disappointed with her absence in the opener against Kenya.

“I believe Zama is going to give us the experience. I’m excited to see her play, she’s solid” Basketball fan Andrew Nyenje on Zama.

“We have Jane Asinde and Jamila Nansinkombi and those 2 are big pieces that can help us qualify” Joan Okurut from Amazon Rhinos commented.

Uganda registered a 78-56 victory in their opener against Kenya and will look to build on that win in their second game.

They face Egypt, who registered a 102- 40 victory against Burundi, on Tuesday at 19:00 EAT.

Will the reinforcements help Uganda go past the hosts?