Opong leads Uganda to cut D’Tigers claws in AfroBasket qualifiers

 Ugandan Robinson Opong came up with a performance for the ages on Saturday to help his country improve to 1-1 at the ongoing 2025 FIBA AfroBasket Qualifiers.

Opong, the only Ugandan to score in double digits, established a record for most points scored in a single game of the new format of the AfroBasket Qualifiers as the Silverbacks beat Nigeria 72-62 in a Group B encounter.

The shooting guard was unstoppable, scoring 24 of his tournament-high 39 points from behind the arc.

The previous AfroBasket Qualifiers scoring record belonged to Opong’s national team teammate Ishmail Wainwright who scored 36 points against Cape Verde in the second window of the 2021 AfroBasket Qualifiers in Alexandria, Egypt.

“We keep that in the family,” an elated Opong said.

Nigeria head coach Mohamed Abdulrahman blamed his assistant coach Ogoh Odaudu for Opong’s display.

Opong played for Nigerian outfit Rivers Hoopers under Odaudu in the inaugural BAL season.

”A couple of years back,” Abdulrahman said, “he was in Nigeria to play with one of our teams. He wasn’t really impressive. I think he was trying to prove a point. [It was like] ‘You didn’t have much respect for me the last time I was there. Now I get the chance to prove to you that I can actually [shoot]. I was telling my assistant you are one of the problems because this guy is looking at you… he is trying to prove a point. He is a good shooter.”

Opong denied he was trying to prove a point. “I wasn’t looking at him [Coach Ogoh]. I love coach Ogoh, he is a very good man.”

Talking about his new record, the City Oilers guard said: “Obviously I am happy, but I am most happy that we got the win. We could have lost the game and 39 points wouldn’t have meant anything. We want to qualify for AfroBasket.”

Uganda head coach Mandy Juruni described Opong’s display as “Outstanding. Even when they played the zone [defense] we wanted him to shoot the ball. Robinson did a fantastic job.”

While Uganda improved to 1-1, Nigeria dropped to 0-2 ahead of their last game in the opening window of the 2025 AfroBasket Qualifiers.

 Abdulrahman continued: “Fatigue played a part [in the loss]. These guys are pros, they have been in situations like this before, and they are going to find a way to motivate themselves. It’s something I don’t think I have to worry about. They are committed to play and win for the country. The biggest motivation is the high expectations from over two hundred million people back home who expect them not to come here and go 0-3. 1-2 is much better than 0-3.”

“At the end of the day, no matter if it’s fatigue. We just need to play our game the correct way,” said Devine Eke who led Nigeria with 19 points.

While Uganda will face Libya in Sunday’s clash, Nigeria will play Cape Verde.