Uganda and Kenya are not off to a good start as West Africa sides Senegal and Cote D’Ivoire secure the opening match win thanks to the East Africa counterparts.
Unlike host Rwanda, East African representatives Uganda and Kenya have not shared the joy of opening match glory.
The Silverbacks were faced with the huge task of challenging five-time AfroBasket champions The Lions of Senegal in their Group D opener. Apart from leading all quarters of the games, The Lions made a massive statement in the 3rd quarter with a 19 point range between them and opponent The Silverbacks.
Atlanta Hawks player Gorgui Dieng led the score charts with 19 points while the USA-based Adam Seiko led the charts for Uganda with 12 points. Match ended 93-55 (24-14, 19-17, 28-9, 25-15)
The same fate for Uganda was witnessed for The Morans of Kenya though the difference was not as extended as that from the Silverbacks-Lions game.
It was challenging to predict a probable match-winner after the 1st and 2nd quarter as there was no significant difference between them Q1(26-24) and Q2(13-25) going into the half-time break square.
However, Cote D’Ivoire proved to be the match favorite after ending the 3rd quarter with a 6 point lead Q3(21-15) and also went on to win the match 88-70.
Kenya’s Taylor Ongwae who plays for the Danish club, Bakken Bears topped the score charts with 25 points while Matt Costello helped Cote D’Ivoire secure a win scoring 20 points.
Uganda faces another tough opponent in Cameroon on August 27th. Cameroon were forced to give away a win to South Sudan after registering positive COVID-19 cases in their camp. Cameroon will not make it a smooth ride for The Silverbacks following the circumstances mentioned above.
The same goes to say for The Morans from Kenya as a tough opponent, Nigeria awaits their next fixture on August 27th.
