KAMPALA, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Uganda have vowed to put up a good show when they participate in the 2018 Federation of International Basketball Association 3x3 Africa Cup.

The Uganda men's and women's teams were flagged off on Wednesday by the National Council of Sports ahead of the tournament which runs from Nov. 9-11 in Lome, Togo.

Uganda managed to secure their ticket to the premier event after the qualifiers held in Madagascar, and by virtue of their ranking on the continent. The Ugandan men's team is ranking third and the women's side first in Africa.

"As a federation, we are very proud of the achievements we have made and continue to make in putting Uganda at the world stage. Our 3x3 national team program is robust and continues to grow as we push towards the dream of Olympic qualification in 2020," said Grace Kwizera, the vice chairman of Marketing and Communications of the Federation of Uganda Basketball Association.

Tonny Drileba, one of the male players, told Xinhua, "Playing at the big stage is an opportunity to get the exposure and get better. Qualifying to the world level is the ultimate achievement we are targeting especially the Olympics."

Uganda is in Pool A together with Cape Verde and Ghana for the women's category. Cape Verde and Nigeria are Uganda's Group C opponents in the men's category.

Twelve teams will take part in the championship. They are Uganda, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Madagascar, Nigeria, Mali and Mauritania. Enditem