The Uganda basketball fraternity was shocked on Saturday morning on X (Twitter) about the resignation of the National women’s basketball team coach, Alberto Antuna. In an X, he expressed his gratitude to the Federation of Uganda Basketball Association for giving him a chance to coach the national team.
“It is time to say goodbye. I would never have thought that in such a short time, being part of something as big as “The Gazelles” would make me feel like a coach in such a deep way. We made history. Said coach Antuna
“Just Thank You, especially to the players. Those of you who accompanied me in February and/or Afrobasket, thank you FUBA and President Nasser (Sserunjogi). I’m sure it’s not goodbye but until next time UG.” He added
It should be noted that coach Alberto joined the Uganda national basketball team in January and he went on to guide the women’s team in the Afrobasket Women’s Zone V qualifiers played in Kampala where they finished second after losing to Egypt in a highly contested final. He guided the team to the Afrobasket Women’s tournament in Kigali as a wild card having had an impressive run-in during the qualifiers.
How did the team Perform in Kigali under Alberto?
While in Kigali, the team had a horrid start losing to Mali in their opening game but then resurrected when they went on to beat Senegal in game two and went on to eliminate DR Congo in the knockout stage to set up an East Africa derby in the quarter-finals against Rwanda.
Against Rwanda, coach Alberto and his girls enjoyed a brilliant first quarter and start to the second quarter before an injury to talisman Jane Asinde who sprained her ankle and couldn’t play anymore, it was disastrous from then onwards but the team fought back in the 4th quarter. Still, they came up short and the Rwanda team qualified for the semi-finals while Uganda was left to play for rankings.
The team lost to Mozambique and then went on to beat Guinea which led them to their highest finish 7th in the tournament. Coach Antuna guided the Gazelles to become the second most improved team in FIBA rankings having moved into the top 10 in Africa and moved 23 places in the world. Now Uganda Gazelles are ranked 57th in the world.
What next for coach Alberto?
It is not yet confirmed where coach Antuna will be headed next, but according to reports, he is being courted by neighbours Rwanda and African powerhouse Senegal. For Uganda, the hunt is on for a new coach to lead the new fantastic project that the Federation of Basketball in Uganda has embarked on.
Also read: NBA Africa Donates Indoor Basketball Court to Rwanda Basketball Federation
