Ugandan Gazelles Bow Out of Women’s Afrobasket with ‘Heads Held High’

It’s an end of the road for Uganda at the Women’s Afrobasket tournament after they lost 61-69 to hosts Rwanda on Wednesday at the BK Arena in Kigali.

The two players in double figures were guard Jannon Jaye Otto who managed 31 points and 13 boards while Melissa Akullu added 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Jane Asinde added six points and eight rebounds although her time on the court was cut short with a sprained ankle at the start of the third quarter and that sent the Gazelles into a state of confusion, failing to recover during the rest of the game.

“It’s crazy what Rwanda is doing with basketball and the fans however the Gazelles did well even after we lost one of our best players in Jane Asinde,” said Head Coach, Alberto Antuna.

He added: “I wouldn’t change anything that’s for sure, a few weeks back no one would say we’d reach the quarter-finals of the Afrobasket but we have, so we celebrate it and look forward to another chance.”

“I think the biggest thing we did is encourage each other and play as a team, we kept telling each other to keep going, the team we have now is young and I believe in all the ladies, we’re not yet done, we can still leave a mark,” noted Melissa Akullu.

“A week ago, we couldn’t have imagined making it this far, our team is growing which is exciting, the sky is the limit we are hungry to win and lift Uganda to greater heights.”

The loss means Uganda will now play classification games with the first being against the winner between Nigeria and Mozambique.

“You gave us hope, you showed us the way, we believed and you made us proud. We bow out with pride and our heads up high. We love you Gazelles,” tweeted the Federation of Uganda Basketball Association (FUBA).

By FUBA Media