The Uganda national pool teams had contrasting fortunes at the ongoing Ultimate Africa Pool Championships in Mpumalanga, South Africa, as the men’s side advanced to the knockout stage, while the women missed out on a quarterfinal place whilst securing a spot in the Saturday final against Namibia.
The men’s team, led by talisman Caesar Chandiga and Simon Lubulwa, swept all their group fixtures, losing once, to top their pool unbeaten.
Uganda opened the day with a 20–5 victory over Namibia A, edged Namibia B 15–10 and sealed group leadership with an 18–7 win over Kenya’s Mchana.
Chandiga delivered a standout performance, winning all five frames against Namibia and losing only one frame in each of the other two matches. He was well supported by Simon Lubulwa, who dropped two games on a strong day for the Ugandan men.
Lubulwa is second in the MVP rankings behind South Africa’s Jerry Ganda Ganda.
Head coach Nathan Bwakosya expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance ahead of the quarterfinal clash against Mchana after the Kenyan side squeezed into eighth place.
Meanwhile, the Uganda Ladies bowed out of the group stage after losses to South Africa C (8–17), South Africa B (9–16), and Namibia (1–24)
Despite missing the quarterfinals, the team will contest the ladies’ final against Namibia on Saturday.
Focus now turns to the singles events that started last evening, where Ugandan players are tipped to be among the standout contenders.
