Junior Gazelles face Egypt in quarter-final at FIBA U18 AfroBasket
Uganda reached the quarter-finals after finishing second in Group A with two wins from three games.
Mary Hazel Ssengendo controls the ball before scoring a two-point basket. Courtesy photo
2026 FIBA U18 Women’s AfroBasket
Central African Republic 43 Uganda 86
Quarter final fixtures
Wednesday
Mali v Kenya 5:30pm
Cameroon v Nigeria 8pm
Côte d’Ivoire v Tunisia 10:30pm
Thursday
Uganda v Egypt 4am
Uganda's Junior Gazelles face a tough test when they take on Egypt in the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIBA U18 Women's AfroBasket on Thursday morning in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, at the Palais des Sports de Treichville.
Uganda reached the quarter-finals after finishing second in Group A with two wins from three games.
The Junior Gazelles opened their campaign with an impressive 84-57 victory over Kenya before suffering an 80-44 defeat to hosts Côte d'Ivoire.
They responded strongly in their final group game on Monday, beating the Central African Republic 86-43 to finish second behind unbeaten Côte d'Ivoire.
Rose Musundi led Uganda with 23 points in the group stage, while Melissa Taliba added 22 points, 13 rebounds, and eight steals. Mary Hazel Ssengendo contributed 16 points and nine rebounds.
Egypt will, however, provide a tougher challenge.
The North Africans also finished second in Group B with a 2-1 record. Egypt started the tournament with two wins before losing 62-57 to unbeaten Mali in their final group game.
The statistics show that Egypt have been the stronger scoring team. They are averaging 80.3 points per game, compared with Uganda's 71.3.
Egypt are also averaging 53 rebounds and 26 assists per game, while Uganda are averaging 60.7 rebounds and 20 assists.
Uganda's biggest concern will be turnovers. The Junior Gazelles are averaging 32.7 turnovers per game, compared with Egypt's 20.
That could prove costly because Egypt are averaging 36.3 points from turnovers, meaning Uganda will need to take much better care of the ball.
Free-throw shooting is another area the Junior Gazelles must improve.
Against the Central African Republic, Uganda missed 26 of 56 free throws, leaving important points at the line.
The Junior Gazelles, however, have an advantage on the boards.
Uganda are averaging 60.7 rebounds per game, including 27.7 offensive rebounds, compared with Egypt's 53 total rebounds and 20.3 offensive rebounds.
Uganda will need to make the most of that advantage by creating second-chance opportunities while also defending strongly and converting their scoring chances.
History, however, favours Egypt.
The two teams have met three times in the competition, with Egypt winning all three encounters. Egypt beat Uganda 76-53 in 2024, 69-43 in 2018, and 67-25 in the 2016 quarter-finals.
The Junior Gazelles will hope the current team can change that record after showing good character to recover from their heavy loss to Côte d'Ivoire with a convincing victory over the Central African Republic.
Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, and Cameroon finished the group stage unbeaten, topping Groups A, B, and C respectively. Uganda, Egypt, and Nigeria finished second in their groups with 2-1 records.
The other quarter-finals on Wednesday are Mali against Kenya, Cameroon against Nigeria, and Côte d'Ivoire against Tunisia.
In the classification games, Morocco face the Central African Republic, while Senegal play Benin.
Uganda's result against Egypt will determine their semi-final opponent. A win would set up a Friday semi-final against the winner of Mali and Kenya. The other semi-final will feature the winners of Côte d'Ivoire against Tunisia and Cameroon against Nigeria.
The Junior Gazelles must limit turnovers, improve their finishing, and make the most of their rebounding advantage against Egypt.