L-R: Nantongo, who will be making her second World Cup appearance, and Shillah Namunu (third from left), the team captain, will feature in the FISU World Cup as UCU misses out on Martina Anyango and Tracy Namugosa, the MVP of the previous World Cup.
By Michael Ainomugisha
Fresh from winning their ninth Women’s National Basketball League title, Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) Lady Canons are preparing to compete at the FISU University World Cup 3×3 Basketball, scheduled for 23–25 October in Macao, China.
The Lady Canons qualified for the World Cup after successfully defending their Federation of African University Sports (FASU) Afro Varsity 3×3 Basketball Championship title, defeating United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa) of Kenya 21–15 in the final held in Ibadan, Nigeria.
Their return to the global competition comes a year after UCU secured bronze at the 2025 FISU 3×3 Basketball World Cup in Brasília, Brazil. The Lady Canons defeated China’s Huazhong University 18–15 in the third-place playoff, becoming the first African university team to finish among the competition’s top three.
Having come close to reaching the final last year, head coach Nicholas Natuhereza believes his side can build on that performance and compete for the title in Macao.
“Obviously, we felt that we were so close. Those games were really close. We could have finished second or even first the last time round,” Natuhereza said.
“The target is always to do better. Hopefully, we want to be in the finals and have a chance to compete for the number one spot. It won’t be easy, but that’s what the target is.”
The Lady Canons enter the tournament less than two months after winning the national league championship, having defeated JT Lady Jaguars 4–1 in the best-of-seven final series.
Despite the short turnaround between competitions, Natuhereza said the team has concentrated on adapting to the demands of 3×3 basketball rather than continuing with the five-a-side format.
“We haven’t been doing five-on-five, so that has helped us to focus. We have been doing conditioning and three-on-three training only. I feel like we have had enough time to adapt, and we will be able to compete,” he said.
The university will be represented by Zoe Atek, Silvia Nakituuka, Sylvia Nantongo, and Shillah Lamunu. Nantongo replaces Martina Anyango, who was part of the team that qualified in Nigeria but has since left to continue her student-athlete career in the United States.
Natuhereza believes Atek’s inclusion will also strengthen the side as it seeks to improve on last year’s bronze-medal finish.
“I think Atek and Nakituuka are good additions to the team. The target is to do better, hopefully be in the finals and have a chance to get that number one spot,” he said.
However, the coach acknowledged the difficulty of predicting how the competition will unfold, particularly because university teams often undergo significant changes in personnel between tournaments.
“These are university teams. Many of them change almost every year,” he said.
The tournament, organised by the Macau Universitarian Sports Association (ADUM), will bring together student-athletes representing 18 countries or cities.
Natuhereza also called on supporters back home to follow the team’s campaign despite the time difference between Uganda and Macao.
“Hopefully, it will be worth it. They can wake up and support us, be excited and have hope and belief in us, he said.
