Gazelles defeat DR. Congo to reach their first ever Women’s Afrobasket Quarter-Finals

The Gazelles will play at the quarter finals of the Women’s Afrobasket tournament for the first time in history following their 78-62 win over DR. Congo on Tuesday night at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.

Claire Lamunu’s 12 points and 14 rebounds, a first double double for Uganda at the showpiece led the way while Jannon Jaye Otto picked up 18 points and six boards.

Jane Asinde continued with her top performance, picking up 18 points and six boards while Lydia Babirye and Hope Akello each added 12 boards for the Gazelles.

Head Coach Alberto Antuna’s reaction.

“We’re happy because we keep doing history for the country and the Gazelles but I told the girls how difficult it is to play and win these kind of games, we need to really appreciate how far we’ve come.

We won because we’re competing well but we didn’t need to win, at half time we had to make some changes and I am happy the team adjusted immediately.

Jannon Otto Jaye’s reaction.

“DR. Congo really crashed the boards hard, they were abit aggressive I feel like we were abit stressed but at half time the coach told us to focus on the rebounds and defense, we also tried to limit the turn overs and I am glad it worked out.

The Gazelles join the Silverbacks, the Uganda men's national basketball team to feature in the last eight of the premier basketball tournament.

Uganda will now face neighbors Rwanda in what is expected to be a hotly contested game at the BK Arena on Wednesday with the game tipping off at 6pm in Rwanda and 7pm in Kampala.