CAIRO (Egypt) - The qualifiers for the 2026 FIBA U18 AfroBasket resumed with the Zone 5 tournament getting underway on Friday in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
Four of the six teams vying to represent the zone at the final tournament next month in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, were in action on Game Day 1. South Sudan battled Uganda while Tanzania faced hosts Egypt.
See below for a recap of events in Cairo on Friday.
Uganda hold off South Sudan’s late surge
Uganda’s Junior Silverbacks faced off with the Young Bright Stars of South Sudan in what was a fitting Group B opener at Cairo Stadium Indoor Hall 2.
Uganda won the entertaining game 52-40 but needed a strong defensive effort late in the fourth quarter to hold off determined South Sudan, who trailed by just 2 points (42-40) with just over 3 minutes to play.
South Sudan got a fast start, scoring six unanswered points, forcing Uganda’s coach Daniel Juuko to call for a timeout. The communication Juuko made during the timeout worked as Uganda went on a 10-0 scoring run to assume the lead and never trailed again.
Uganda’s point guard Shane Kwizera shone with a rare triple-double of 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 steals to go with 4 assists. John Levi Ogiramoi contributed 12 points while Pierre Laurent Rwuhiriro, who was Uganda’s defensive anchor in the paint, chipped in with 8 points, 9 rebounds and blocked a couple of shots.
Bior Mayen netted 15 points to lead South Sudan while Deng Langar had a 10-point and 14-rebound double-double.
Egypt overwhelm Tanzania
In Group A, Egypt made their intentions of qualifying for the U18 AfroBasket clear by beating Tanzania 126-32.
The Egyptians controlled the encounter right from tip-off to the last buzzer, with every player on the team scoring at least 2 points in the lopsided game while playing less than 20 minutes.
Asaad Hendawy (24 points), Ramy Magdy (18), Moustafa Aly Shahin (17), Zeineldin Aly Abdeldaim (14) and Mohamed Diab (10) scored in double digits for Egypt.
Only Brian Ruhasha (12 points) scored in double figures for Tanzania.
Up Next
The group phase continues on Saturday, July 25 as Uganda takes on Kenya while Rwanda face Egypt.
FIBA