Uganda’s National Basketball Team, the Gazelles, stunned Egypt with a 74-63 victory to qualify for the Women’s AfroBasket 2025. The Gazelles avenged their 65-62 group-stage loss by defeating the hosts in a winner-takes-all matchup.

Uganda won the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket Zone V Championship on Saturday, February 8, securing the sole zonal ticket.

Led by power forward Jane Asinde, Uganda secured a hard-fought revenge against hosts Egypt, dominating the first three quarters.

They outscored Egypt 19-18, 21-11, and 21-16 before the Egyptians attempted a late rally, winning the final quarter 18-13. However, Uganda maintained their lead to seal the victory with an 11-point margin, 74-63.

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Uganda’s leading scorer and captain, Jane Asinde, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and headlined the competition’s Best Five selection.

Uganda’s power forward was joined by South Sudanese guard Delicia Washington, Egyptian shooting guard Nadine Mohamed, Kenyan small forward Victoria Reynolds, and Egyptian center Raneem Elgedawy.

Other individual awards:
• Best Rebounder: Adut Bulgak (South Sudan)
• Best Blocker: Ines Nezerwa (Burundi)
• Best 3P Shooter: Nadine Mohamed (Egypt)

Burundi won the Fair Play trophy, while South Sudan took bronze.

This marks Uganda’s fourth qualification for the AfroBasket tournament, having previously participated in 1997, 2015, 2023, and now 2025.

Uganda’s Gazelles will join Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, and Rwanda, who qualified automatically from the last edition, along with Cameroon and Angola, the Zone IV and Zone VI winners.

The 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket (29th edition) will take place from July 25 to August 3 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Uganda’s Gazelles crushed Burundi 66-30 in the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket 2025 Qualifiers, finishing the group stage with a 3-1 record and securing a place in the winner-takes-all Zonal final.

Coming off a crucial 89-63 victory against South Sudan, the Gazelles capitalized on facing a weaker Burundi side to seal a top-two finish in the group.

Burundi started strong, leading the first quarter 17-14, thanks to Ines Nezerwa’s seven points.

However, Coach Nicholas Natuhereza’s squad dominated defensively, limiting Burundi to just five points per quarter for the rest of the game and winning the last three quarters (15-4, 17-5, 20-4) to seal a commanding 36-point victory.

With the game under control, Coach Natuhereza rotated his squad, resting key players Paige Robinson, Hope Akello, Shakirah Nanvumbya, and captain Jane Asinde—who all logged over 33 minutes in the previous win against South Sudan.

No player exceeded 28 minutes, allowing Jamila Nansinkombi and Melissa Akullu, who didn’t feature against Kenya, valuable playing time.

Both players seized the opportunity, delivering double-digit performances. Zama led all scorers with 14 points and six rebounds, while Akullu contributed 12 points and seven boards.

Nezerwa, aka Giti, led Burundi with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Uganda’s victory secures their spot in the final, likely against Egypt, the only team to defeat them in this campaign. A win for Egypt over South Sudan today would set up the final with Uganda on February 8 at Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall.

The Zone V winner will earn a spot in the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket 2025 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The Uganda National Basketball Team, the Gazelles, fought hard to overcome a 14-point deficit, but foul trouble proved costly as they fell to Egypt 62-65 in their second game of the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket Qualifiers.

The February 4 match at Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall saw Uganda welcome back Jamila Nansikombi after five years, though she had little impact after missing the first game due to visa issues.

The Gazelles struggled early, trailing 14-23 at the end of the first quarter, with the deficit growing to 14 points in the first two minutes of the second. However, Nicholas Natuhereza’s side mounted a strong comeback, narrowing the gap to just one point at halftime (32-33).

Egypt took control in the third quarter, limiting Uganda to just nine points. The Gazelles scored their first basket after six minutes, finishing the period behind 41-46.

Jane Asinde and Hope Akello led Uganda’s final-quarter charge, claiming their first lead at 51-50 after six minutes. However, Akello fouled out, and Nanvubya was in foul trouble, allowing Egypt, already in the bonus, to capitalize and regain momentum.

With 1:25 remaining, the game stood tied at 59-59, but Hala Elshaarawy and Farida Abdelnabi sank back-to-back layups to give Egypt a four-point cushion.

Uganda’s Robinson Paige responded with two free throws, but Elshaarawy’s late layup restored a two-possession lead with 19 seconds left.

Asinde had a chance to cut the deficit but converted only one of two free throws, sealing the 62-65 loss. 

With this result, the Gazelles sit second in the standings behind undefeated Egypt.

Uganda takes on South Sudan Wednesday in a second-place battle following South Sudan’s win over Kenya.

A victory would improve Uganda’s standing before facing Burundi, the group’s weakest team, with the top two teams battling in a winner-takes-all final for a spot in the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket 2025.

Uganda’s national women’s basketball team, the Gazelles, tipped off their FIBA Women’s AfroBasket 2025 Zone V Qualifiers with an emphatic 78-56 victory over Kenya’s Lionesses, thanks to captain Jane Asinde’s stellar 24-point performance.

The East African derby saw Uganda take full control from start to finish, with Kenya failing to lead at any point in the game (23-11, 17-17, 17-9, 21-19).

Uganda outperformed Kenya in every aspect, shooting 46.3% from the field compared to Kenya’s 26.2%. The Gazelles also capitalized on turnovers, scoring 18 points to Kenya’s 11, while dominating fast breaks (17-5) and points in the paint (38-14).

Despite missing key players Jamila Nansikombi ‘Zama’ and Melissa Akullu due to visa issues, Uganda relied on naturalized player Paige Robinson and captain Asinde.

Robinson impressed in her international debut with 15 points and six assists.

Asinde was the standout performer, shooting 10-of-19 from the field while adding nine rebounds, four assists, and four steals in 34 minutes.

For Kenya, Victoria Reynolds and Mercy Wanyama contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The Gazelles started their journey on a positive note; however, the road ahead will not be easy. they will take on hosts Egypt tomorrow in their second game, face South Sudan on Wednesday, and finish the group stage against Burundi on Thursday.

The FIBA Women’s AfroBasket 2025 will begin on July 25 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, and Rwanda have already secured their places in this 29th edition of Africa’s top women’s basketball tournament, having finished in the top four of the previous edition held in Rwanda.

As the host nation, Côte d’Ivoire automatically qualifies, and the number of auto-qualified teams reduces the available qualification slots, making the path to Abidjan even more competitive.

Cameroon became the first team to qualify through the qualification campaign after winning Zone IV on August 21 last year.

The FIBA Women’s AfroBasket Zone V Qualifiers offer one spot, like the other zones, with five teams—Uganda, Kenya, Egypt, South Sudan, and Burundi—competing at the Hassan Mustafa Sports Hall in Cairo.

In a round-robin format, each team will play four games, and the top two teams will face off in a decisive final where a winner will secure the Zone V ticket and join Rwanda in Abidjan.