The Gazelles fell to hosts, Egypt 65-62 on Game Day 2 in what was an exciting and very stressful game.

Uganda came into the game on the back of a big 22-point victory against Kenya on day one but the Egyptians were on the back of an even bigger victory, 102-40 against Burundi.

Egypt led by as many as 14 points and many thought that it was a game done but a couple of changes by Coach Nicholas Natuhereza helped the Uganda improve their defense and cut out the Egyptian threats.

Egypt outscored Uganda 23-14 in the first quarter, but it was their 3-point shooting and the creativity that helped them achieve this early lead.

Nadine Mohamed ‘Selawi’ had 9 first-quarter points, 3/4, 3P, while point guard Reem Moussa had 8 assists.

However in the second quarter, Uganda improved on their defense and they limited Egypt to just 10 points while scoring 18 and cutting the deficit to 1 point by the halftime break.

Egypt made 10 turnovers in the second quarter alone and Uganda capitalized with 10 points from turnovers.

In the third quarter, the momentum by Uganda did not carry forward at the start.

Uganda played good defense but their offense was lacking.

They went scoreless  for almost 6 minutes but managed to get a couple of baskets as the quarter winded down.

Egypt made a 9-0 run to take a 10-point lead and established themselves, halfway the third period.

Uganda made a quick 7-0 run, punishing the Egyptian’s turnovers, and the quarter ended 46-41 in favor of the hosts.

Uganda took their first lead of the game with 4:41 left after Jane Asinde scored from the free-throw line.

At this point, tremendous pressure had mounted on Egypt and they were trying to stay composed.

In the final 4 minutes, each team was scoring on their opportunities and their were 7 lead changes and 1 tie.

With less than 40 seconds left, it was a 2-point game and Egypt called a timeout.

Uganda defended extremely well but Hala Elshaarawy scored a while shot on the buzzer to give Egypt a 4-point lead with 19 seconds left and ultimately win them the game.

Talking points

Defense was very key for Uganda and despite the whole team playing collectively, Shillah Lamunu stood out.

She was tasked with stopping the guards of Egypt and she did exceptionally.

She had the highest +/-  11 for Uganda and it was the second in the whole game.

Jamila Nansinkombi and Claire Lamunu all did not have the best of the games.

Nansinkombi aka Zama scored just 1 point in 22 minutes and finished with 6 turnovers.

At the end of the game, she was introduced back, and she had the task of getting some offense for Uganda but unfortunately turned over the ball, and this summed up her performance.

Claire scored 2/8 and missed out on big baskets in the first half. Down the stretch, she missed some free throws and once again missed some buckets and these in one or another were Integral in the defeat.

Uganda

Paige Robinson 24 pts, 4 reb

Jane Asinde 18 pts, 14 reb, 5 ast

Hope Akello 11 pts, 4 reb

Egypt

Raneem Elgedawy 20 pts, 10 reb

Nadine Sayed 19 pts, 6 reb

Reem Moussa 8 pts, 13 ast

Egypt will take rest on Wednesday and will return to action on Thursday against South Sudan.

On the other hand, Uganda returns to action on Wednesday against South Sudan, who won their opener against Kenya.

Uganda will be looking to build on the energy and return to winning ways while the South Sudanese will be seeking to make it 2-0 and going first or second.