Uganda’s women’s 3×3 basketball team has begun its 2026 FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series campaign in Orléans, France, stepping into a key stretch of competition that carries Olympic qualification implications for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
The squad travelled to Europe targeting ranking points that feed directly into the Olympic pathway. Their participation in the fast paced half court format represents one of Uganda’s clearest routes yet into Olympic team sport qualification, with performances across the series contributing to the global federation standings.
The team is built around Jane Asinde, Melissa Akullu, Perus Nyamwenge, Leslie Vorphal, and Jamila Nansikombi, a group that has steadily built experience on the international 3×3 circuit.
They enter the Orléans stop as the eighth seed in a 16 team field, a sign of their growing reputation within the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series structure.
In Orléans, Uganda have been drawn into Pool A alongside some of the strongest sides in the competition. Their opening test comes against Neftchi SOCAR of Azerbaijan, a top seeded outfit with a strong track record on the circuit, before a second group clash later in the evening against Mitsubishi Electric of Japan. Both matches on Tuesday are expected to be decisive in shaping their route into the knockout rounds.
Only the leading teams from each pool will advance into the quarterfinal stage, where the competition tightens and every result carries added weight in the race for ranking points. For Uganda, the focus is on consistency and survival against established global programmes while building momentum across the series.
The Orléans event is the first of three French stops on Uganda’s schedule, followed by Poitiers and Marseille later in June and early July. Across the wider 2026 season, the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series offers multiple opportunities to climb the global rankings, with Olympic qualification for Los Angeles 2028 based on federation standings and designated qualifying events.
