- Finals (Men): Uganda 6-14 Ivory Coast
- Women finished 5th
Heading into the 2018 FIBA 3×3 Africa Cup, Uganda’s medal hopes were in the women’s team by virtue of their ranking, and experience of the players.
The team was made up of players that had played together in the shorter version of the game at several tournaments. Jamila Nansikombi, Rita Imanishimwe and Sarah Ageno have played together for a while and Hope has been of the 3×3 set up.
The quartet cruised through swept through Group A dispatching Cape Verde, 21-5, and Ghana, 21-6. However, topping the group meant facing fourth ranked Mali who could not top Group C in the quarterfinals, and the Ugandans collapsed 16-21, missing several freebies in the defeat.
The side finished a disappointing 5th in the final ranking, skidding a couple of places from last year’s tournament.
“We should have done better and also will do better. That said, Mali is a great team and the game could have gone either way. It’s sad the teams had to meet in the quarterfinals because it meant one of the best teams at the event had to go home early,” Hamza Nyambogo, the 3×3 country coordinator said. “We have a lot to learn and we look to work on our short falls,” he added.
Meanwhile, the men’s team of Tonny Drilleba (City Oilers), James Okello (City Oilers), Mark Okidi Opiyo (Warriors) and Athieu Madol (Power) scrapped through to win silver.
The side terribly lost to Nigeria 22-5, but edged Cape Verde 14-13 to reach the quarter finals, where they beat Mali 9-8. The side eliminated DR Congo 18-16 at the semifinals.
In the finals, the Silverbacks fell to Ivory Coast 14-6 in the crunching finals.
Finishing second was massive leap for third ranked Uganda who had finished eighth last year.
