'Let's bring down the Kigali Arena roof together' – Gazelle's captain rallies basketball fans ahead of Afrobasket

The hit song 'Mulirana' by local crooner King Saha has always been a Ugandan basketball fans' favourite whenever Uganda is involved in any tournament with Rwanda.

The Afrobasket showpiece might not have pitted the two neighbours in the same group.

Still, the burning desire for the Gazelles to perform well in their rivals' backyard as Mulirwana (neighbour) blares through the speakers can't be ignored.

Especially by team captain Flavia Oketcho who has issued a rallying call for fans to make it to Kigali in numbers.

"Mulirwana (referring to the song), these are our neighbours; you can get there eight hours by bus, an hour by flight," Oketcho told Pulse Sports.

"Everyone is behind us, that's for sure, and I can't wait to see them in Kigali."

"In whichever way, please come to Kigali and let's bring the roof down together; we want to feel the love from everywhere, so again, let's do this together," Oketcho added.

The JKL Dolphins point guard, who was part of the 2015 Afrobasket team in Cameroon, also noted the difference in preparation from the last edition, adding that this time around, the team has been able to gel more with the coach.

"This time round, we've prepared better; in 2015, we only trained for four days, but now it's more than 14 days; it helps the team gel and the coach to prepare better."

Uganda is pooled in group C alongside Mali and Senegal, the former finished third, while the latter finished second in the 2021 Afrobasket edition.

Oketcho added: "At the end of the day, it's five against five; we know they're both good teams, but we need to play to our advantage, faster and effectively because we want to compete."

"To be counted among the best, you must beat the best; I've always said that," she noted.

The Gazelles get their campaign underway against Mali on the 29th of July before facing Senegal the following day at the BK Arena.