The National Basketball Team, Silverbacks’ assistant coach Mande Juruni has said the continued top performance of Silverbacks players Adam Seiko and Arthur Kaluma in the National Collegiate Athletic Association- NCAA in America will inspire the national team as they prepare for the 2023 FIBA Africa World Cup qualifiers due in July this year.
The two brothers born to Juma Seiko are representing the San Diego State Aztecs men’s basketball team and Creighton Bluejays respectively. The duo caught people’s attention when they were selected on either side when their two teams met in the Midwest Region first-round game of the National Collegiate Athletic Association- NCAA tournament in Fort Worth, Texas.
Before their clash, Kaluma, a freshman forward has been a starter all season and averages 9.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while his elder brother Seiko, a senior guard, mostly come off the bench and averaged 5.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 23 minutes per game.
For the 20-year-old Kaluma, his best performance came when his side Creighton Bluejays locked horns with Kansans, although the Bluejays fell to Kansas. Kaluma pulled a double, 24 points and 12 rebounds, and four assists in the 40 minutes he was on the court.
While several Ugandans are celebrating the presence of Ugandans in College basketball, Silverbacks, coach Mande Juruni says the performance will boost the national team ahead of the international engagements.
While talking to our reporter, Juruni who trains the silverbacks with George Galanopoulos said the good performance of Uganda’s duo in college basketball will enhance the performance of the Silverbacks because these players will instill a top-notch experience in the national team.
The tactician added that having an impeccable performance in college basketball could also help the duo earn positions in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
For now, Uganda has only one player taking part in the National Basketball Association (NBA), Ishmail Carzell Wainright, a naturalized American-Ugandan player who plays for the Phoenix Suns in the western conference pacific division.
Meanwhile, Kaluma and Seiko also had a perfect performance in the Afrobasket games 2021, where Uganda finished 6th in the tournament, down in Kigali with Kaluma averaging 13.2 points and 7 rebounds whilst Seiko averaged 13.0 points 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Uganda will play Nigeria, Cape Verde, and Mali in the second round of the 2023 FIBA Africa World Cup qualifiers in July this year.
Uganda is currently third in group A with 3 points. The silverbacks are therefore expected to rely on the in-form brothers Kaluma and Seiko, Ishmail Wainright plus a combination of local-based players to solve the puzzle.