Gazelles win, Silverbacks beaten as 2019 FIBA Zone V championships start

By D'zyre Derekford Mugumisa

It was victory and loss, both by 9 points, as hosts Uganda opened their account at the 2019 FIBA Zone V Basketball Championship at the Lugogo Indoor Arena here in Kampala.

The men's and women's winners this year will qualify for the AfroCAN & AfroBasket Women's Championships respectively.

With KCCA Leopards' Judith 'Ayo' Nansobya dropped from the final 12 to represent Uganda, Uganda's Gazelles started strongly against Rwanda, finishing the first quarter 23-11, only to manage a mere 5 points in a wobbly 2nd quarter where they allowed their opponents 19 points and gave away control of the game.

JKL Lady Dolphins' Jamila 'Zama' Nansikombi, one of a batch of stars that looked off-colour on the day, somewhat recaptured her mojo to help her team win the final 2 quarters 22-13 & 12-10 to seal out a 62-53 victory for an early advantage.

Rwanda's Tierra Monay Henderson was the star performer on the day, bagging a game-high 24 points, with Claire Lamunu scoring 14, a Uganda team-high.

The Gazelles take on Egypt on this Thursday at 5:00pm, who themselves battled to a very nervy 86-82 victory over the Kenya Women.

The Silverbacks on the other hand, Uganda's men's team, lost 70-61 to rivals Kenya, in a game they will look back on and feel they could have done better.

Even with Kenya's clearly deeper roster, so much that Brian Namake hardly had any time on the floor and Michael Makiadi none, the Ugandans fluffed their chances at pretty much every single opportunity they couldn't afford to, shooting poorly while also turning possession over like it was in vogue.

The Kenya men now take on their Egyptian counterparts on Thursday, while Uganda take an off-day and next play Egypt on Saturday at 7pm.

 

What they said:

Nick Natuhereza - Head Coach, Gazelles

On reaction of the team to avoid defeat

"It is always good to start on a good note so we're happy. We didn't know much about Rwanda so they surprised us a little in there, but I'm glad we recovered."

 

On starters that struggle vs. Rwanda

"A national team is the cream of the best, you could say, so some players may not play so well sometimes and (I'm glad that) when I look at the bench, there are players that can put up a good fight while I hope the other players bounce back in the next game."

 

Jimmy Enabu - Captain, Silverbacks

On what caused the Silverbacks defeat

"It was tough tonight, our shots didn't go, we also let them take so many offensive rebounds so that really hurt us."

On if team confidence will be shaken

"This doesn't really shake our confidence, it only shows us what we need to do better. We just need to be more aggressive, especially defensively & offensively take care of the ball and we'll be fine."