Having failed to get out of the pool phase in stop 1, the U21 men’s teams managed to finish second in stop 2. They fought hard in the final but fell to a strong Algerian side.

Opener against Kenya

In their opening game, they defeated neighbors, Kenya, 15-10. Uganda trailed 7-3 but managed to recover ad they made a 5-1 run to level the game.

They then turned up their defense in the closing stages of the game, limiting g Kenya to 0 points in the final 3 minutes. Uganda made a 5-0 run to claim a 15-10 victory.

Toe-to-toe with Benin

In their final game, Uganda needed a victory in order to advance to the final. However, they had defeated Benin in stop 2 and the west Africans were up for revenge.

The game started off competitively but Uganda made an 8-1 run to take a 6-point lead.

Benin tried to launch a comeback but Edrine Ekau managed to close the game. He hit 2 big 2-point shots and scored the final 6 points for Uganda.

Ekau finished with 8 points while Mathew Kisakye, who delivered with his drives to the baskets scored 7.

With this, the team had topped pool A and booked a slot in the final against Algeria.

The Final

In stop 1, Algeria had defeated Uganda 21-6. This was an opportunity for not only revenge but also glory, but it was not going to come easy.

Algeria opened the game with a 5-0 run and this was a statement. Uganda tried to recover cut the deficit to 1 point.

In the closing stages of the game, foul trouble costed Uganda a ton and the Algerians capitalized on it.

They scored 4 free throws late in the game and secured a 17-11 victory.

With that, Uganda finished in second place, a big improvement from 4th in stop 1.

The ladies

For the ladies, they moved from winning stop 1 to finishing in 4th place.

Uganda lost to Egypt 11-13 in their opening game and this hurt their chances of making it to back-to-back finals.

In their next game, they defeated Benin 10-2. However, given their low points scored, Uganda finished in fourth place behind Algeria only by 1 point.

This was a wakeup call for the team to score as many as they can even though they face defeat.

Stop 3

The FIBA 3×3 Youth Nations League Africa North Stop 3 will take place on Wednesday 5th August.

Uganda ladies are in Pool B with Tunisia and Benin. The men are in Pool A with Algeria and Egypt.

Both teams will have to ensure to make it out of the group stages in order to increase their chances at winning the whole thing.

Fixtures (EAT)

Men

Uganda vs Algeria 7:25 pm

Uganda vs Egypt 9:15 pm

Women

Uganda vs Tunisia 7:50 pm

Uganda vs Benin 11:50 pm