Silverbacks Squad Named for FIBA World Cup Qualifiers

Uganda men’s national basketball team head coach Mandy Juruni has named a 12-man Silverbacks squad for the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 African Qualifiers.

The squad features three debutants: Rezlife Saints guard Edrine Ekau, Akron Zips forward Marvin Musiime-Kamali, and Blessed Phillip Mbogo, who have all earned their first national team call-ups.

Ekau arrives in camp after an impressive National Basketball League campaign with Rezlife Saints. The guard averaged 17.3 points per game as Saints secured a third-place finish in the regular season, highlighted by victories over defending champions City Oilers and rivals Nam Blazers.

According to the Federation of Uganda Basketball Associations (FUBA), the Silverbacks will depart on June 20 for a residential training camp in Kigali, Rwanda. The camp will run until June 30 as the team prepares for the next qualification window.

Uganda will then travel to Luanda, Angola, for the FIBA Africa World Cup Qualifiers scheduled from July 2 to July 5, 2026.

The Silverbacks face a challenging task after losing all three of their opening Group D fixtures against Angola, Egypt, and Mali during the first qualification window held between February and March 2026. Uganda currently sit bottom of the group and will need strong performances to revive their qualification hopes.

Qualification Format

Sixteen African nations are competing for five places at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027, which will be hosted in Doha, Qatar.

The qualifiers are being played across five windows. The top three teams from each first-round group will advance to the second round, carrying forward all results from the opening phase.

In the second round, teams will face the three qualifiers from the parallel group over two additional windows scheduled for August 2026 and February 2027.

At the conclusion of the second round, the top two teams from each group, along with the best third-placed team overall, will secure qualification to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027.