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.
