Uganda’s men’s national basketball team, the Silverbacks, head coach Mandy Juruni has named a 12-man squad ahead of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers.
The squad includes three debutants: Rezlife Saints guard Edrine Ekau, Marvin Musiime-Kamali of the Akron Zips, and Blessed Phillip Mbogo.
Ekau has enjoyed an impressive season with Rezlife Saints, averaging 17.3 points per game to help the side finish third in the regular season, including wins over City Oilers and Nam Blazers.
According to the Federation of Uganda Basketball Associations (FUBA), the team will depart on June 20 for a residential training camp in Kigali, Rwanda, which will run until June 30.
The Silverbacks will then travel to Luanda, Angola, for the FIBA Africa World Cup qualifiers scheduled from July 2 to July 5, 2026.
Uganda currently sit bottom of Group D after losses to Mali, Angola, and Egypt in the first window held in February and March 2026.
Qualification format:
Sixteen nations are competing in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 African qualifiers, played across five windows, with five slots available for the World Cup in Doha, Qatar.
The top three teams in each group will advance to the second round, where they will be joined by three teams from the parallel group. All results from the first round are carried forward, meaning every game remains crucial in the race to Qatar 2027.
In the second round, each team will face the three sides coming from the other group over two additional windows scheduled for August 2026 and February 2027.
At the end of these six games per team, the top two teams in each group, along with the best third-placed side, will qualify for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027.
Silverbacks squad – Nike Sibande Dejur Jr, Fayed Baale, Edrine Ekau, Marvin Musiime-Kamali, Robinson Odoch Opong, Blessed Phillip Mbogo, Peter Obleng, Deng Geu, Emmanuel Womala, Jonathan Komagum, Titus Lual Odeke, Joel Paul Kayiira
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