Uganda’s national women’s basketball team, the Gazelles, will be hoping to wrap up their Cairo friendlies on a high when they take on Cameroon tonight, following back-to-back losses to Egypt and Rwanda in preparation for the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket.
The Gazelles, currently in a residential training camp in Egypt, fell narrowly to hosts Egypt 87-85 on Saturday in a fiercely contested game before losing 75-65 to Rwanda on Sunday.
The defeats exposed some glaring issues in ball handling and execution; areas head coach Nicholas Natuhereza admits must be urgently addressed.
“We lost to hosts Egypt and against Rwanda, both are tough losses. We didn’t do well in a number of areas, and as a coach, that’s what I worry about,” Natuhereza said.
“The biggest problem we had was not taking care of the basketball. We turned over the ball a little too much.”
Against Egypt, Uganda fought hard, rallying back from an early 13-5 deficit, and at halftime trailed by just two points.
Despite strong performances from Melissa Akullu and Jane Asinde, lapses under pressure and turnovers proved costly.
The following night, Rwanda capitalised on Uganda’s repeated errors in the half-court, leading from start to finish.
“Egypt applied a lot of pressure on us in the full court, and we lost the ball a number of times which led to the loss. Rwanda was playing mostly in the half court, but we still turned over the ball and gave out points,” the coach explained.
As the team looks ahead to tonight’s game against Cameroon, Natuhereza called for urgency and renewed focus.
“We need to know that our level right now is not good enough for what we’re preparing for, but hopefully we’ll prepare better in the next couple of days,” he said.
“We have to be better in our last friendly game. We’ll focus on improving our weak areas and players gaining more confidence.”
The Gazelles are currently without three players: Claire Lamunu, Paige Robinson, and Mya Wasswa, who are expected to join the team once they relocate to Alexandria for the final stretch of the training camp.
“We’re looking forward to them joining the team because that will hopefully improve our overall play and position to play at Afrobasket,” Natuhereza added.
Assistant captain Hope Akello echoed the coach’s sentiments, describing the friendlies as valuable learning opportunities.
“These friendlies are helping us prepare for the Afrobasket in Ivory Coast. They are helping us know our weaknesses and improve on them, and our strengths so that we capitalise on them,” Akello said.
“There are a number of things that we need to improve like our offence, and we’re trying to work on them. I know going forward, we’ll get better.”
To the fans back home, Akello had a message of reassurance: “We really appreciate your support, don’t give up on us, and we assure you that everything’s under control. We’re improving as a team.”
Uganda will relocate to Alexandria after tonight’s fixture for further tactical and physical work before flying to Abidjan for the 2025 Women’s AfroBasket, which tips off on July 25.
The Gazelles will be making their fourth appearance at the tournament, having finished 7th in the 2023 edition.
