Kampala City Council (KCC) have been given a wild card and will together with Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) will carry the Zone Five flag to the Africa club championships slated for Cotonu, Benin latter in the year.
Zone Five secretary general Vitalis Gode said that this development was good for the game in the region.
It will be KCC's second appearance to the tournament following similar move last year that saw the team take part in the event in Nairobi, Kenya in November.
KCC lost to KPA during the final played at the YMCA Wandegeya courts in the Ugandan capital on August 2.
A total of 19 teams took part in that tournament.
KCC are upbeat and have vowed that they will improve on their last placings during the Nairobi show.
"We are happy at this chance. We are going to give it our best shot and with the kind of improvements and exposure we have seen in the last months, we are sure to fly the Ugandan flag high in this championships." said a team official from Kampala.
KCC were place fourth in their first international assignment in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during last year's qualifiers.
They broke camp after the event and had to re-assemble only a few weeks latter after Fiba Africa gave them a ticket to the final tour.
During the zone five tournament, the team, playing before their fans reached the finals where they battled seasoned KPA who only broke open this tie in the last five minutes of the game to win another of their crown. KPA crushed 39-64 to APR of Rwanda.
En route to the finals, KCC produced the shock of games when they shut our favourites APR 74-66 in a result that even their die hard supporters found hard to believe. That is how far KCC have gone. With proper preparations, they are convinced thay can do well.
If that is not enough message for all in Africa to take note of the sudden rise of the Leopards in the region, what is ? It has been gradual.
Now in players like Mirriam Hamalla, Akulo Becky, Birungi Marriam and Flavio Okech they believe its about time to unleash their their full claws.
KPA coach Anthony Ojukwu is up beat about his girls performance in the Benin platform. He hopes to beef up the squad before he gets underway his trainings.
Zone Five is looking forward to a solid performance from its two giants.
Gode said that zonal champions Co-operative Bank of Kenya will carry the country and zonal flag to the men's championships that will be played in Kigali, Rwanda on December 4-14.
Dann O'Werre
FIBA Africa