2025 Afrobasket Qualifiers
Group B Results
Friday
•Cape Verde 78-73 Uganda
•Nigeria 82-89 Libya (OT)
Saturday
•Uganda 72-62 Nigeria
•Libya 68-72 Cape Verde
Sunday
•Libya 71-59 Uganda
•Cape Verde 78-62 Nigeria
Group B Table
- Cape Verde 3-3
- Libya 2-1
- Uganda 1-2
- Nigeria 0-3
In a bitter conclusion to their first window of the 2025 Afrobasket Qualifiers, Uganda’s men’s national basketball team, the Silverbacks, endured a 71-59 defeat against Libya on Sunday in Tunisia.
This loss came following a mixed performance in their opening two games, where they fell to Cape Verde on Friday but managed to secure a victory against Nigeria on Saturday.
Despite entering Sunday’s contest with hopes of building on their recent success, the Silverbacks were met with early setbacks, finding themselves trailing 21-16 after the first quarter.
Unfortunately, they failed to mount a successful comeback throughout the game.
Star player Robison Opong, who had delivered a stellar performance with a record 39 points against Nigeria, struggled to find his rhythm against Libya, managing just 6 points off 3-of-17 shooting from the field.
While the City Oilers duo of Tony Drilleba (16) and Ivan Muhwezi (15) combined for 31 points, the lack of scoring depth proved to be a challenge for the Silverbacks, with no other players reaching double digits.
Titus Lual (7), Emmanuel Womala (6), Brandon Ssebirumbi (5) and James Okello (4) were the other scorers in a game Adam Seiko and Fayed Baale had limited time on court while Edgar Munaaba, Joel Kayiira and Stanley Mugerwa were never used.
The Libyan quartet of Gyayth Alrahman (16), Sofian Hamad (16), Mohamed Sadi (12) and Ismail Salem Naseim (14) scored in double digits.
Libya, who needed to defeat Morocco in the two-legged pre-qualifier to secure a place in Group B, finish the first window with two wins having beaten Nigeria in their opener after Over time.
Libya will now have high hopes of making a long-awaited return to Afrobasket since 2009.
Throughout the game, Uganda struggled to maintain control, allowing Libya to capitalize with 13 steals and establish a significant 17-point lead at one juncture.
As they head into the second and final window of qualifiers in February next year, Uganda faces an uphill battle with one win and two losses under their belt.
However, Coach Mande Juruni remains optimistic about the team’s prospects, especially with key players like Ishmail Wainright, Captain Jimmy Enabu, and Arthur Kaluma expected to play a part.
