The Uganda Silverbacks showed flashes of immense potential and second-half resilience, ultimately falling short 83-89 to Rwanda in their opening friendly game.
Despite the loss, Head Coach Mandy Juruni found plenty of positives to take away from what was only the team’s third day together as a group.
”It was good to see the boys compete,” Juruni said. “There were so many good things that we did in the game. And obviously, there are some mistakes that we made. But as a whole, we played four quarters and lost one. So many lessons again.”
The Quarter-by-Quarter Breakdown
The Silverbacks started strong, taking a slim 23-20 lead in the first quarter.
However, a catastrophic defensive lapse in the second quarter saw Rwanda explode for 36 points, leaving Uganda trailing by a massive 18 points (38-56) at halftime.
The second half was a completely different story. Refusing to fold, Uganda clamped down defensively and found their rhythm offensively, cutting the deficit down to just three points at various spells in the second half.
Coach Juruni highlighted this fightback as the main takeaway from the encounter. “One thing that really stood out for me was the second-half offense and the defence that we played. We brought the game to 3 points, 4 points. So there were a lot of good things that I saw during that spell.”
The team has already shifted focus to fixing the second-quarter meltdown. Following a film session, the squad worked directly on correcting those specific little details during today’s practice.
The Silverbacks are also set to receive a significant boost with reinforcements on the way. Marvin Musiime arrived in camp on Thursday while star player Devine Sibande will join the group over the weekend on Sunday.
The Silverbacks will get an immediate shot at redemption when they face Rwanda again this Saturday.