Uganda men's national basketball team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Uganda women's national basketball team.

Uganda

FIBA ranking	83 (25 February 2025) [1]
Joined FIBA	1963
FIBA zone	FIBA Africa
National federation	Federation of Uganda Basketball Associations (FUBA)
Coach	George Galanopoulos (basketball coach)
Nickname(s)	Silverbacks [2]
Olympic Games
Appearances	Qualifiers FIBA Africa
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	Qualifiers FIBA Africa
AfroBasket
Appearances	3
Home Away

Former logo of the FUBA

The Uganda national basketball team also known as The Silverbacks represents Uganda in international basketball competitions. It is administered by the Federation of Uganda Basketball Associations (FUBA). ^{[3] [4]}

Uganda made its debut at the FIBA Africa Championship at its 2015 edition in Tunisia. There, Uganda beat Zimbabwe 72–64 to earn its first victory at the continent's prime tournament.

Outlook

At the AfroBasket 2021 qualification, Uganda had group plays against Egypt, Morocco and Cape Verde. ^[5]

At AfroBasket 2021 in Rwanda, Uganda had its best performance in history as it reached the quarter-finals where it eventually lost to Cape Verde.

FIBA Africa Championship record

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L
1964	Did not qualify
1965
1968
1970
1972
1974
1975
1978
1980
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1992
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015	Round of 16	15th	5	1	4
2017	Preliminary round	13th	3	0	3
2021	Quarter-finals	6th	5	2	3
2025	Qualified
Total			13	3	10

Team

Current roster

Roster for the AfroBasket 2021. ^[6]

Uganda men's national basketball team roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. G 2 Adam Seiko 23 – (1998-02-27)27 February 1998 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) San Diego State Aztecs SG 4 Tonny Drileba 27 – (1993-12-19)19 December 1993 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) City Oilers PG 5 Jimmy Enabu 33 – (1988-04-17)17 April 1988 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) City Oilers SG 6 Robinson Opong 32 – (1989-05-10)10 May 1989 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) CD Estela G 7 Keiron Zziwa 23 – (1997-11-07)7 November 1997 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) Manitoba Bisons PG 8 Ben Komakech 35 – (1986-04-28)28 April 1986 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) City Oilers C 9 Deng Geu 24 – (1997-01-01)1 January 1997 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Rasta Vechta PF 10 James Okello 29 – (1992-01-26)26 January 1992 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) City Oilers PF 11 Titus Odeke 22 – (1998-12-29)29 December 1998 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Uganda Christian University SF 12 Eric Rwahwire 25 – (1996-02-21)21 February 1996 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Hamilton Honey Badgers SF 13 Ish Wainright 26 – (1994-09-12)12 September 1994 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Toronto Raptors F 15 Arthur Kaluma 19 – (2002-03-01)1 March 2002 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Creighton Bluejays	Head coach George Galanopoulos (basketball coach) Assistant coach(es) Mandy Juruni Andrew Senyondwa Legend Club – describes last club before the competition Age – describes age on 24 August 2021

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench
C
PF
SF
SG
PG

Past rosters

Team for the 2017 FIBA Africa Championship. ^[7]

Uganda men's national basketball team roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club G 4 Syrus Kiviiri 29 – (1988-03-22)22 March 1988 Pemba Warriors PG 5 Jimmy Enabu 29 – (1988-04-17)17 April 1988 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) G/F 6 Robinson Opong 28 – (1989-05-10)10 May 1989 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Free agent PF 7 James Okello 27 – (1990-01-26)26 January 1990 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) City Oilers PG 8 Benjamin Komakech 31 – (1986-04-28)28 April 1986 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) City Oilers F 9 Jonathan Egau 24 – (1993-03-02)2 March 1993 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) UCU Canons G 10 Jonah Otim 23 – (1994-01-10)10 January 1994 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) City Oilers F/C 11 Samuel Kalwanyi 22 – (1995-05-20)20 May 1995 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Wayland Baptist Pioneers SF 12 Stephen Omony  (C) 37 – (1980-03-23)23 March 1980 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) City Oilers C 13 A'Darius Pegues 29 – (1988-03-21)21 March 1988 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) Pioneros de Los Mochis F 14 Joseph Ikong 31 – (1985-09-28)28 September 1985 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Tiger Head Power PF 15 Stanley Ocitti 37 – (1980-05-28)28 May 1980 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) City Oilers	Head coach George Galanopoulous Assistant coach(es) Mandy Juruni Legend Club – describes last club before the tournament Age – describes age on 8 September 2017

Team for the 2015 FIBA Africa Championship. ^[8]

Uganda men's national basketball team roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club PF 4 Stanley Ocitti 35 – (1980-05-28)28 May 1980 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) Aomori Watts SG 5 Jimmy Enabu 27 – (1988-04-17)17 April 1988 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) City Oilers SF 7 Joseph Ikong 29 – (1985-09-28)28 September 1985 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Tigerhead Power Basketball PG 8 Josh Johnson 22 – (1992-09-20)20 September 1992 Ipswich Basketball SG 9 Samuel Mukooza 25 – (1989-12-04)4 December 1989 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Östberga Basket PG 10 Kassim Nagwere 25 – (1990-06-23)23 June 1990 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fryshuset Basket PF 11 Samuel Kalwanyi 20 – (1995-05-20)20 May 1995 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) City Oilers SF 12 Stephen Omwony 35 – (1980-03-23)23 March 1980 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Falcons Basketball Club C 13 Dhal Marial 27 – (1988-04-24)24 April 1988 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) C 14 Henry Malinga 36 – (1979-04-04)4 April 1979 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Riham Warriors C 15 Brandon Sebirumbi 25 – (1990-05-15)15 May 1990 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) Cáceres Ciudad del Baloncesto	Head coach Mandy Juruni Assistant coach(es) Omar Ba Rajab Legend Club – describes last club before the tournament Age – describes age on 20 August 2015

Head coach position

• Timothy Odeke  : 2007–2009 ^{[9] [10]}
• Mandy Juruni  : 2015–2017 ^[11]
• George Galanopoulos  : 2017 - ^[12]
• Mandy Juruni : 2018– ^{[13] [14]}
• Andrew Tendo (interim) : February 2023 ^[15]

See also

• Uganda women's national basketball team
• Uganda national under-19 basketball team
• Uganda women's national under-19 basketball team

References

1. "FIBA World Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 25 February 2025. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
2. Kaweru, Franklin, "Uganda’s Silverbacks ranked 89th in latest FIBA rankings" Archived 12 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine , KAWOWO Sports, 9 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
3. FIBA National Federations – Uganda ^{[ dead link ]}, fiba.com. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
4. Kaweru, Franklin, "Uganda’s Silverbacks ranked 89th in latest FIBA rankings" Archived 12 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine , KAWOWO Sports, 9 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
5. Okello optimistic ahead of AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers Franklin Kaweru (Kawowo Sports), 10 February 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
6. "Team Roster Uganda". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
7. 2017 Afrobasket – Uganda, FIBA.COM. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
8. |tab=roster 2015 Afrobasket – Uganda, FIBA.COM. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
9. "Coach Wooden's words reach war-torn nation of Uganda". Daily News. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
10. "Rwanda - Uncertain Uganda Appoints New Coaches". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
11. Kaweru, Franklin (27 July 2015). "Mandy Juruni to name final twelve Silverbacks this week | AfroBasket 2015". Kawowo Sports. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
12. Fischer, Jake (13 June 2018). "How George Galanopoulos became Uganda's head coach". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
13. "Coach Wooden's words reach war-torn nation of Uganda". Daily News. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
14. "FIBA World Cup Qualifiers: Silverbacks Start Preps In Lubowa | The SportsNation". the-sportsnation.com/. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
15. Kaweru, Franklin (23 February 2023). "Home-based players make late trip to Angola for FIBA World Cup qualifiers". Kawowo Sports. Retrieved 25 February 2024.

External links

• FIBA profile
• Uganda Basketball Records at FIBA Archive
• Africabasket – Uganda Men National Team