Saturday, November 27
*Uganda Vs Cape Verde – 10pm
Uganda Men’s National basketball team, the Silverbacks, have vowed to correct errors as the team prepares to face Cape Verde on Sunday.
Uganda failed to get off the mark after a 76-66 loss to Mali on Friday in their opening game at the ongoing first window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers in Benguela, Angola.
Uganda admirably went toe-to-toe with Mali and won two of the four quarters but were hard done by 27 turnovers before falling on the night.
“We came here to win the game, unfortunately it did not happen,” started Head coach Mandy Juruni. “We have to look at the game and see how we can get better, learn from the loss and think about our next game.”
“I thought Mali played aggressively and we failed to match up. They took the game away from us, we didn’t play our game and we made so many turnovers and I think it was a huge difference.”
Uganda will seek to build on the individual brilliance of Brandon Davies who notched a double double of 24 points, 16 rebounds and five assists ahead of the Cape Verde tie.
However, Juruni called on other Brandon teammates to show up on Saturday and Sunday crucial games.
“I am not surprised he (Brandon) had a good game for us, he did what is expected of him, but definitely the other players have to step in, this is a team Sport and it will not be easy for us if only one or two players show up. Everyone should step in and contribute,” Juruni added.
It was not a perfect result for Uganda who came into the tournament after a successful 2021 FIBA Afrobasket event where they finished sixth overall.
“These Qualifiers are huge for us, we have been improving as a country and I feel we belong here at this stage.
“Most of the things we did not do well against Mali are collectable and if we get them right, we can be a better team. We are not looking at countries, we just have to concentrate on our selves and I think we can compete with anyone.”
Juruni also revealed that Robinson Opong Odoch will be available for the Cape Verde game after missing the opener due to his late arrival.
Brandon, who last played for Uganda during the AFROCAN Zone Five Qualifiers at Lugogo, said that it was an ‘honour’ to play for the country.
The Barcelona forward said that they were hard done by the turnovers but they will not be making any excuses.
He added: “We are going to improve, we should just learn from this and get back stronger. You can see that the effort in there. Every possession is a battle at these games and we have to respect that but I believe that if we can fix a few errors, we can beat anyone.”
Uganda will be meeting Cape Verde for the third time in recent memory after a 101-98 win in 2021 Afrobasket Qualifiers last year in November before Cape Verde beat Uganda 79-71 in the Afrobasket quarterfinals on September 2 2021.
Cape Verde beat Nigeria 79-71 in their opener on Friday.
The FIBA World Cup Qualifiers in Benguela, Mali
Friday
*Cape Verde 79-71 Nigeria
*Guinea 76-71 Central Africa Republic
*Ivory Coast 57-56 Angola
*Mali 76-66 Uganda
Saturday
*Central African Republic Vs Ivory Coast
*Nigeria Vs Mali
*Angola Vs Guinea
*Uganda Vs Cape Verde
Sunday
*Ivory Coast Vs Guinea
*Cape Verde Vs Mali
*Central African Republic Vs Angola
*Uganda Vs Nigeria
