Sports

UCU delegation touched down in Brasília on the night of 12 November after a long flight from Entebbe. Both the men’s and women’s teams arrived safely and settled into the athletes’ village ahead of Thursday’s official opening. Their arrival followed weeks of preparation that started immediately after they qualified at the continental championships.

To qualify for the tournament, both the UCU Lady Canons and Canons defeated the United States International University-Africa (USIU) in a qualifying tournament hosted by Makerere University at HAMZ Stadium, Nakivubo, earlier this year, and USIU qualified for the World Cup as runners-up.

UCU got off to a promising start, with captain Ibanda Lwabanga knocking down a three-pointer and Joel Kayiira adding six early points, leading the Mukono side to a 15–11 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

UCU started off with a strong lead, scoring 24 points against Nabisunsa’s 11 in the first quarter. Sylvia Nakituuka opened the score with a three-point shot. Despite missing a couple of layups and jump shots, Nakituuka’s 11 first-quarter points gave the Lady Canons an early upper hand.