The Uganda Ladies 3*3 National basketball team, the Gazelles now know who they have to beat so as to reach the 2019 World Cup.
On Wednesday, they were drawn in pool A alongside hosts Puerto Rico, Australia and Estonia for the qualifiers that will take place in San Juan, Puerto Rico from 4th to 5th April.
The Gazelles will first take on Australia on the 4th at 11:30pm before locking horns with Estonia at 1am on the 5th.
Their last game will be played on the 5th at 8:30pm against the hosts.
The other African nation that will feature in the qualifiers are Mali who were drawn in pool B alongside Brazil, Spain and New Zealand.
Mali won the women’s FIBA 3×3 Africa Cup while Uganda finished a disappointing 5th but qualified for the qualifiers as they are the top ranked team on the continent.
Uganda (Ladies team) has played at the FIBA 3×3 World Cup on two occasions that’s in 2014 and 2018.
In the last edition, team Uganda was eliminated at the Group stage having finished third in pool C which featured the likes of USA, Russia, Iran and Andora.
Sarah Ageno (UCU Lady Canons), Ritah Imanishimwe (JKL Lady Dolphins), Claire Lamunu (then at Bo Viagem Angra-Acore Basketball Club in Portugal) Jamila ‘Zama’ Nansikombi (JKL Lady Dolphins) featured for Uganda at the showpiece held in Philippines last year.
How the Qualifiers work:
The pool winners directly qualify for the semifinals and the 2nd and 3rd-placed teams in each pool play a quarterfinal with the winners advancing to the semifinals.
The winners of the semifinals will qualify directly to the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2019, while the losers of the semifinals will play a final game for the final qualifying spot.
The 2019 FIBA 3×3 World Cup. 2019 will take place in Amsterdam, Netherlands on from 18th-23rd August.
What you need to know about the 3*3 World Cup:
The FIBA 3×3 World Cup is the primary tournament for 3*3 basketball organized by FIBA. The debut of the tournament then named as the FIBA 3×3 World Championship was held in August 2012 in Athens, Greece. The current champions are Serbia in the men’s division and Italy in the women’s division.
There are two events in the tournament; one for men and another for women. Each team has 4 players (3 on court, 1 bench). In the first edition, there was a mixed event where each team composed of 2 men and 2 women. The match is played on a half court and every rule applies as well as a 12-second shot clock and clearance needed on a new possession. 3*3 basketball received Olympic status in 2017.
2019 FIBA 3X3 World Cup Qualifiers pools:
Women.
Pool A
-Puerto Rico
-Uganda
-Estonia
-Australia
Pool B
-Brazil
-Spain
-New Zealand
-Mali
Men.
Pool A
-France
-Germany
-Italy
-Nigeria
Pool B
-Romania
-Puerto Rico
-Australia
-Czech Republic
