The Uganda U23 3×3 team, under the name Kampala, represented the nation in the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Stop in Baku, Azerbaijan and the results were unimpressive.

In the stop that took place from 18 to 19th July, Uganda lost both their games in the qualifying draw and that meant that they couldn’t advance to the pool phase.

In their first game, Uganda played Slovenia and it was a must win for them since their opponents had won their opening game against Slovakia.

However, despite looking decent (in terms of play), Uganda could barely score a basket and Slovenia cruised past them with a 21-6 victory.

After that defeat, their was not much to play for, maybe pride and a high finish (in order to increase our points which matter in our quest for the Olympics).

In their second game, it was also a poor outing as Uganda lost 16-7 to Slovakia.

Concerns

These players played at the Women’s series in 2025 and one would think that they got some experience. However, they looked very bad in Baku. It was as though they had never played at this stage before.

The team could barely hit any shot, even open ones. The defense was horrible and there was barely any positive to take home.

Outcry back home

When the qualifiers were advertised, it stated that the winning team would travel to Baku, Azerbaijan. However, to the surprise of many, the winners were not taken.

The U23 team, which competed under the name Lady Gazelles, lost 14-15 to team Lynx in the final. Team Lynx included players ;Sylivia Nantongo, Bushira Namayanja, Resty Nanangwe and Tamasha Nsubuga.

Even though 2 of the girls are high school students and one of them (Nanangwe) had been in Gulu for the Nationals, you feel like the other 2 players should have been taken.

However, none was and this left many people angry and disappointed in the system. You cannot start lying to people right in their face. If you already had knew who you were going to take, why then lie to the public?

Nonetheless, when the team that had lost was chosen to go, not much was expected from them given their lukewarm performance at the FIBA 3×3 Youth Nations League in Mombasa, Kenya.

With the amount of experience that Uganda, you felt that they would dominate but that only happened on the first and final stop.

Their losses to Kenya and South Sudan were a reality of were the team is and upon facing much tough opposition, losses were expected.

World Cup next

Having qualified for the FIBA U23 3×3 World Cup, the team shall keep training as they prepare.

The event shall take place from September 15 to 19 in Wuhan Shi, Hubei, China with Uganda expected to finish higher than they did in 2025 (14).

The U21 3×3 Boys and Girls teams will be competing in the FIBA 3×3 Youth Nations League in Monastir, Tunisia from 3rd to 9th August.

With Egypt, Kenya, and Benin also competing at these events, the girls have to make sure they deliver as this will help in the Federation ranking that will affect who qualifies for the Olympics. The 3 are all direct rivals for Uganda and this nations league conference will be a key battle ground.