Uganda’s Junior Silverbacks dig deep to edge Rwanda to U18 AfroBasket spot
The utter dominance of Uganda’s Junior Silverbacks leading up to the finals of the FIBA Africa Zone V U18 Qualifiers for AfroBasket boded well. The Ugandans had been foot-to-gas since the opening tip-off on Sunday night against Tanzania, running over whoever crossed their path including Rwanda. Friday night was different. Rwanda had the most powerful […] The post Uganda’s Junior Silverbacks dig deep to edge Rwanda to U18 AfroBasket spot appeared first on Kawowo Sports.
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The utter dominance of Uganda’s Junior Silverbacks leading up to the finals of the FIBA Africa Zone V U18 Qualifiers for AfroBasket boded well.
The Ugandans had been foot-to-gas since the opening tip-off on Sunday night against Tanzania, running over whoever crossed their path including Rwanda.
Friday night was different. Rwanda had the most powerful mutation and were in control for most of the game thanks to scoring point guard Dylan Kayijuka who played the final to his will.
The game’s opening quarter showed Rwanda would not be pushovers again as Uganda led by just a couple of points, 19-17. The notion became more apparent in the subsequent period as the hosts were limited to 10 points while the visitors matched their first-quarter production to assume a 5-point (34-29) lead at the long break.
“We felt like we caught the Rwandan team off guard a little bit in our first game, we knew we couldn’t get them by surprise [again],” Uganda’s assistant coach Michael Seger admitted.
“We knew this was a championship game that would be blow-for-blow. e challenged our guys at halftime to get more assists and turnovers in the second half, to rebound the basketball and compete on defence,” Seger told Kawowo Sports.
Uganda’s players responded positively and quickly erased the five-point deficit early in the third quarter backed by the loud soldout arena.
We were very unselfish, we had a lot of guys step up and play, [and] big men started to make big plays. Rwanda is a great team but we thought our guys gave an effort that was worthy of winning in the second half. Michael Seger – Assistant coach, Uganda U18
Uganda started the final quarter with a one-point (51-50) lead but Rwanda fiercely competed and assumed a four-point (60-56) lead midway through the final quarter.
A back-and-forth final five minutes saw Tejan Rugette, who was later named the tournament MVP, take over for Uganda, attacking the hole in traffic and trying to make plays for the teammates.
“We knew how badly we wanted to win this [game] and when we start playing together as a team, nobody can stop us and it was good when we started playing together,” Rugette told Kawowo Sports.
“Releasing the pressure, making better plays for my teammates, playing relaxed and calm [made the difference]. I know we are a good team, so trusting my teammates was a big thing and I feel like my teammates came through today,” Rugette added.
Rugette finished with 15 points, five assists, and six rebounds. Peter Sserunjogi (15 points and 10 rebounds) and Gideon Ekukwai (14 points and 12 rebounds) posted double-doubles while Edrine Ekau contributed 13 points.
Kayijuka poured in a game-high 26 points to go with 9 boards while Jonas Nsingiza, the only other Rwanda player to reach double digits, had 13 points.
The post Uganda’s Junior Silverbacks dig deep to edge Rwanda to U18 AfroBasket spot appeared first on Kawowo Sports.
