Teams Building Up
The AfroBasketball Games represent the highest level of competition for the top teams across the continent. For the first time, South Sudan will participate in the tournament, and it is also the first time Côte d’Ivoire is hosting it. South Sudan makes an appearance after three previous attempts to reach this major stage. On its third try, the team hired Alberto Antuna as the head coach. He had previously worked with the Uganda Gazelles, leading them to success in 2023. He then briefly coached the Senegal women’s team before joining South Sudan. He returns to the big stage with the youngest team at this level.
Nigeria D’Tigress
The Nigerian squad is set to make history as the only team on any continent to win a continental tournament back-to-back five times in a row. Spanning from 2017, the Nigerian side has had a clean record throughout its appearances at this stage to register a 23 – 0 FIBA record; no team across FIBA competition has registered at a continental level. The team returns in group D (Rwanda and Mozambique), led by Coach Rena Wakama.
Senegal
Late this month, Senegal’s plans to hold a training camp in the USA were impossible to achieve after five players on the team and seven officials were denied visas. The Senegalese team holds the highest record of 11 championships at this tournament and returns thirsty for the championship after it fell short in the final game against Nigeria in 2023. The squad has restructured and will camp at home in preparation for the tournament. It is placed in group C against Uganda and Guinea.
Uganda
The Uganda Gazelles swung into preparation as early as last year, as the team is becoming a growing pain for the previous giant teams that had dominated the continent in the previous years. The latest upset the team caused was its win against Egypt in the Zone 5 FIBA qualifiers, where they surprised the Egyptian side to a loss in the final game and jeopardized their opportunity to make it to the AfroBasketball games. The squad is led by Coach Nick Natuhereza, who took over the team after his return from a high-performance training camp in Frankfurt, Germany.
Groups
- A: Côte d’Ivoire, Angola, Egypt
- B: Mali, Cameroon, South Sudan
- C: Senegal, Uganda, Guinea
- D: Nigeria, Mozambique, Rwanda
