Federation of Uganda Basketball Association (FUBA) Chief Executive Officer Marcus Kwikiriza says focus will be on qualifying for the FIBA U18 African Championship when Uganda hosts the FIBA U18 Afrobasket Zone 5 qualifiers next month.
The tournament is set for 9-14 June at the Lugogo indoor arena with 10 countries having confirmed participation.
Uganda will for a second successive edition host the torunament with the boys and girls set to compete for continental slots.
The U18 girls, the Junior Gazelles won the last edition in 2022 while the U18 boys, the Junior Silverbacks were third with Rwanda having won in Lugogo.
With one slot each available for the boys and girls’ winnthe ers, focus will be emerging champions.
“We are confident with the teams we have put together and we should be able to top the group. Our national youth team is our pride and joy and we are building it to be the next senior players and continuity is important for us,” Kwikiriza noted.
Junior Gazelles head coach John Omondi says the team is ready for the task ahead.
“The competition is high and our players have an opportunity to get exposure and gain experience with some playing in the FUBA league. We have done a good job scouting and this started last year so we are developing from the U16 to the U18 so the growth rate is continuous,” Omondi stated.
Junior Silverbacks captain and Seroma High School guard Amos Mugisha believes the tournament is key for talent development.
“It’s a platform to showcase our talents and display what our country is producing. We have to qualify so that we can represent the country on bigger platforms.”
The 2024 FIBA U18 Afrobasket qualifiers will feature hosts Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia.
