Flavia Oketcho is upbeat after Gazelles' good Afrobasket preps

Flavia Oketcho during training. (Gazelles Twitter).

AFROBASKET 2023 Flavia Oketcho is upbeat after Gazelles' good Afrobasket preps

Peter Tabu • 15:15 - 25.07.2023

The 12-time National Basketball League champion will once again lead the Gazelles at the 2023 Afrobasket edition in Kigali, and she asserts that the good preps they have done as a team will go a long way in helping them perform better.

The Women's national basketball team captain Flavia Oketcho has seen it all, having amassed over 16 years of playing the game of basketball.

The 12-time National Basketball League champion will once again lead the Gazelles at the 2023 Afrobasket edition in Kigali, and she asserts that the good preps they have done as a team will go a long way in helping them perform better.

"It's a great feeling to return to the Afrobasket tournament, this will be our third appearance, and we're so excited because we want to give our best," Oketcho stated.

"This is the longest we've prepared for such a tournament, and it has helped us to bond and train better; it goes a long way in preparing us mentally, physically and emotionally."

The JKL Dolphins point guard is the only surviving member of the Gazelles squad that featured at the 2015 showpiece in Cameroon.

Head coach Alberto Antuna was also on hand to appreciate the team's support, adding that the players are well motivated to compete at the competition.

"Honestly, I am grateful to be part of the set-up; we've come a long way, that's for sure, but what is important is that we all want to go and compete and fight for the badge, and we shall give it everything," Antuna noted.

The Gazelles are pooled in group C alongside Mali and Senegal and open their campaign on the 28th against Mali before facing Senegal a day later.

Flirsh (right) during the team send off. (Gazelles Twitter).

The team is expected to arrive in Kigali on Tuesday by 4 pm.

Uganda Gazelles' final team

Flavia Oketcho, Jannon Otto, Hope Akello, Lydia Babirye, Rita Imanishimwe, Evelyn Nakiyingi, Maria Najjuma, Melissa Akullu, Brenda Ekone, Jane Asinde, Claire Lamunu, Priscilla Abby.

The Afrobasket groups

Group A – Rwanda, Angola, Ivory Coast

Group B – Cameroon, Guinea, Mozambique

Group C – Mali, Senegal, Uganda

Group D – Nigeria, DR. Congo, Egypt

Tags: