Gazelles win two, miss World Cup qualification in Puerto Rico

Uganda Gazelles 3x3 basketball team put on a good show in the FIBA3x3 World Cup qualifiers in San Juan, Puerto Rico but could not make the cut to play in the World Cup.

Nick Natuhereza's four-man team comprising of Claire Lamunu, Jamila Nansikombi, Rita Imanishimwe and Sarah Ageno managed to win only two of their four games to finish 5th out of 8 contestants.

That was two places short of making the cut to the World Cup due in the Netherlands in June.

Uganda started with a 16-10 loss to Australia before winning their next two games; 13-6 and 13-9 against Estonia and Puerto Rico respectively.

They were then edged 14-12 by Brazil to end their campaign with a 50 percent performance.

The Gazelles were drawn in Pool A alongside Estonia, Australia and the hosts Puerto Rico while Brazil, Spain, New Zealand and Mali were in Pool B. Uganda needed to finish among the top three out of the eight contestants in order to qualify.

Instead it was Australia with four wins, Spain with three wins and one loss as well as New Zealand with four wins and two loses that will compete in the World Cup, June 18-23 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Rita Imanishimwe was Uganda's best scorer with 17 points from the four games while Claire Lamunu and Jamila Nansikombi managed 12 apiece, with Sarah Ageno getting seven.