The Gazelles had an impressive performance and qualified for the 2025 FIBA Women’s Afrobasket which shall take place in Abidjan, Ivory Coast after defeating Egypt 63-74 in the Finals of the Qualifiers.

Following their huge victory in Cairo, we take a look at some of the top performers for Uganda at the tournament.

1. Jane Asinde

Jane Asinde was almost flawless throughout the tournament. From her leadership to her performances, she was phenomenal and was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) at the tournament.

Jane is the only Ugandan player who registered a double-double and she did so on 2 occasions, both coming against  Egypt.

She led Uganda in points, rebounds,  assists, steals, blocks and efficiency.

Most importantly, she was in the top 3 in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks at the tournament.

She averaged 18.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.4 steals and 1 block.

2. Paige Robinson

Paige was very integral for Uganda on offense and came through in every game.

She’s the only Ugandan player that scored double digits in all 5 games.

She averaged 15.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and her field goal efficiency helped the Gazelles tremendously.

3. Shakirah Nanvubya

Shakirah announced herself to the International stage and her performances were of a person that’s screaming “i belong here”.

She was the primary ball handler for Uganda and her efforts offensively and defensively helped the team a lot.

She averaged the most minutes played for Uganda with 36.1 plus 8.2 points, 4 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2.2 steals.

4. Jamila’Zama’ Nansinkombi

Zama didn’t have a good start to the tournament as she registered a single point in each of her first 2 games.

However, in the final pool game against Burundi, she scored 14 points, with 4 3-pointers made and she came up huge in the final against Egypt.

Zama had a stellar performance more so defensively and she added 15 points, 7 rebounds and 1 block.

5. Hope Akello

Hope Akello was a huge piece for Uganda and her presence in the paint helped the Gazelles defensively.

In the group phase game against Egypt, she fouled out and many people argued that had she remained in that game, Uganda should have won that game.

Nonetheless, they lost but in the finals, they managed to rejuvenate themselves.

She averaged 8.2 points, 5 rebounds, 1.0 assists  and 1 steal.

6. Melissa Akullu

Melissa missed the first game against Kenya and did not do much in the pool phase game against Egypt.

However, her performance improved progressively and against Burundi, she registered 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in 25 minutes.

In the finals, she played just 17 minutes but was very productive, finishing with 8 points and 6 rebounds.

7. Shillah Lamunu

Shillah Lamunu did not play much but she got her moment in the group phase against Egypt.

Despite the loss in that game, Shillah played very good defense and distracted the offense of the Egyptians.

In the second quarter when she came in, Uganda was 9-1 and they managed to cut the 14-point lead to just 1 heading into the halftime break.

She continued her incredible defensive display in the fourth quarter, and she had the highest +/- with 11.

Special Mentions

Claire Lamunu, Keren Becky Longom, Modesta Anyango, Bushira Namayanja, and Agatha Kamwada.