Peter Obleng scored 22 points as Namuwongo Blazers opened their Road to Basketball Africa League campaign with a commanding 109–45 victory over Ushindzi de Ouani on Wednesday.
The Ugandan champions overwhelmed their Comorian opponents at Hoima City Arena, combining balanced scoring with dominant rebounding to secure a convincing opening win.
Obleng led the charge from the bench, making nine of his 15 field-goal attempts in just over 18 minutes.
Makhtar Gueye contributed 20 points and eight rebounds, while Franck Nyembo added 18 points and seven rebounds, converting all eight of his two-point attempts.
Blazers established control early, racing into a 21–6 advantage within five minutes before closing the opening quarter 31–14 ahead.
They maintained that intensity in the second quarter, adding another 31 points to take a commanding 62–28 lead into halftime.
Ushindzi struggled to contain their hosts around the basket or generate enough consistent offence to threaten a recovery.
Blazers extended their advantage to 82–39 after three quarters, then restricted the visitors to six points in the final period.
Their control of the boards provided the foundation for the victory, with Peter Olisemeka collecting 15 rebounds alongside eight points and four assists.
Seven of his rebounds came at the offensive end, repeatedly giving Blazers additional opportunities to score against an increasingly stretched defence.
Moses Mugisha contributed 10 rebounds and four assists as the hosts finished with an overwhelming 71–27 rebounding advantage.
Blazers converted that superiority into 29 second-chance points, while Ushindzi registered none. The hosts also outscored their opponents 68–22 in the paint.
Johnathan Jordan supplied 11 points and eight assists, with Richaud Pack adding 10 points and seven assists to keep the offence moving.
Blazers recorded 27 assists, while their bench contributed 42 points, giving coach Luis Lopez productive options throughout his rotation.
All 12 players featured, with none exceeding 22 minutes on court, allowing Lopez to spread the workload during a demanding tournament schedule.
Saindou Houmadi Moudhuhirou led Ushindzi with 15 points, all from three-pointers, but the visitors converted only 27.9 per cent of their field-goal attempts.
Despite the emphatic result, Blazers’ outside shooting and ball security left room for improvement.
They made only seven of 36 three-point attempts and converted 14 of 24 free throws, while committing 18 turnovers.
Those shortcomings proved manageable against Ushindzi, but improving their efficiency will become increasingly important as the qualification campaign progresses.
The victory represents the first step towards Blazers’ immediate target of reaching the East Division Elite 16.
Only the top two teams from the five-club Hoima group will advance, keeping the pressure on Blazers to sustain their winning start.
Beyond Hoima, the ambition is to qualify for the 2027 Basketball Africa League. FIBA has scheduled the East Division Elite 16 for November 23–29 in Nairobi, where the top two teams will secure BAL places.
Blazers must first overcome a group also featuring Madagascar’s COSPN, South Sudan’s Patriots Basketball Club and Burundi’s Urunani.
Winning their remaining three matches would guarantee first place with a perfect 4–0 record. Qualification with fewer victories would depend on the other results.
Blazers’ next assignment is against COSPN on Thursday, October 22, at 7pm, before facing Patriots on Saturday and Urunani on Sunday, both at 6pm.