The Uganda U18 women’s teams will face Egypt in the quarterfinals of the 2026 FIBA U18 Afrobasket. The ladies qualified after finishing second in pool A.

Road to the quarterfinals

The junior Gazelles were unprepared coming into the tournament but the team is solid enough to get results. In their opening game, they defeated Kenya 84-57 with Melissa Taliba dominating the paint. This put Uganda is a very good position as they were on the path to qualifying for the quarterfinals.

In their second game, Uganda fell to the hosts Cote d’Ivoire 80-44. However, they bounced back and registered an 86-43 victory in their final pool game against the Central African Republic. With this victory, Uganda finished second in pool A.

For this tournament, the teams were arranged from 1-8 after the pool phase. The top teams in the pool ranked 1-3 while the number 2 teams ranked 4-6 and the final 2 slots belonged to the best third place teams.

With the point differential of 34, Uganda was behind Egypt who had 85 but ahead of Nigeria who had 33. With this, Uganda was ranked fifth while Egypt fourth and that is how the 2 teams came to face each other.

Team Comparisons

Egypt has looked a much better side compared to Uganda in terms of the statistics. This has a lot to do with the fact that they (Egypt), had preparation whereas Uganda did not have any and also some of the country’s best players were left home.

The Egyptians have scored an average of 80 points while Uganda had scored 71 points. However, it is important to remember that Uganda scored 80+ in 2 games but were underwhelming against Cote d’Ivoire.

The North Africans also average 26 assists, 6 more than Uganda. On top of that, they have a 39% field goal efficiency and a staggering 52% efficiency for 2-point attempts. In contrast, Uganda has a 30 % field goal efficiency and 34% 2-point shots efficiency.

The Junior Gazelles also have areas in which they have done better that Egypt. Despite having a low free throw conversion rate (53%), it is better than Egypt’s 49%. Also, Uganda averages 7 rebounds, 6 steals and 1 block more than Egypt.

Tactical battles

In their 2 wins, Uganda applied the press and it did the job. However, when they faced Cote d’Ivoire, their same tactics were used against them and they crumbled. This will be an area in which both teams will test themselves. Whoever can manage to beat the press will have an advantage.

The problem for Uganda is that they have one trusted ball handler in Vanessa Grace Nakalembe. How much help can she get? Can Mary Hazel take some of that pressure off of her? Can Rose Musundi take over as a primary ball handler? To be honest, If Egypt cut out Nakalembe, Uganda could be in trouble.

The other key area is the paint battles. Melissa Taliba is not 100% fit but Ugandans have to pray that she can finish the game. She is the biggest threat offensively and her size will cause Egypt problems. If she is consistently fed in the post, she will get points for Uganda.

Secondly, Olivia Atima has shown willingness to fight on the floor. She also knows her way around the basket. Those 2 have to be able to deliver in the paint by all means if Uganda is to give themselves a chance. If Josephine Aminat and A’Maria Pegues can also chip in with some points, that will be a bonus.

Egypt has a much better shooting efficiency that Uganda and that should be an area which the Junior Gazelles address. Uganda has scored 62 of their 181 2-point shot attempts while Egypt has converted 72 of 139. That difference is huge and it could play a very big factor in deciding who wins this game.

The 3-point shooting hasn’t been great from both teams. Uganda has converted 11 of 66 attempts while their opponents have converted 17 of 88 attempts. Whoever has a good shooting day could end up securing the win.

The free throw conversion has been key. Egypt has fouled more than Uganda who have attempted 107 free throws and made 57 while their opponents have made 46 of 94 free throws. If Uganda can convert more on the line, they could take advantage of the Egyptians’ foul problems.

What this game means

This is a very big rivalry. Most recently, the Uganda senior women’s team defeated Egypt at their own home in the Zone V Qualifiers. Egypt will be looking for revenge. Additionally, since these 2 teams are powerhouses in Zone V, both will be looking to take the bragging rights.

The most important thing about this game is the automatic qualification for the 2028 tournament. This year’s cohort was able to make it (despite not playing the qualifiers) because the last cohort reached the semifinals. They will also be looking to do the same.

The quarterfinal tie will take place on Wednesday 12th August at 23:30 EAT.