FIBA Women Basketball League Africa: MFM Queens in search of first win against FAP in a make-or-break encounter

Posted : 11 December 2024

Four final group matches will be decided in Groups A and B at the ongoing FIBA Women’s Basketball League Africa at the Marius Ndiaye Arena in Dakar, the capital of Senegal.

Nigeria's champions, MFM Queens, will step onto the court again for a make-or-break encounter against F.A.P of Cameroon. Both teams need a win to progress to the quarter-finals stage.

Watch NPFL Matches LIVE: https://www.africasport.net/livetv/nigeria

MFM Queens have suffered two defeats, just like F.A.P, at the hands of Al Ahly Sports Club of Egypt and ASC Ville de Dakar.

- ASC Ville de Dakar 57-54 F.A.P
- Al Ahly Sports Club 89-63 F.A.P
- Al Ahly Sports Club 99-49 MFM
- ASC Ville de Dakar 81-50 MFM

This is the second time in the history of this competition that F.A.P and MFM Queens are meeting. Their first encounter, on December 13, 2019, saw F.A.P secure a 60-42 win in a classification game.

The second game of Group A is between Al Ahly Sports Club and ASC Ville. Both teams are yet to taste the bitter pill of defeat.

In Group B, none of the four teams—defending champions Sporting Alexandria, APR BBC, FBA, and C.N.S.S.—are guaranteed a place in the last eight, as all of them have three points each, with one win and one defeat.

Meanwhile, Day 4 of the 2024 Women’s Basketball League Africa (WBLA) saw Group C teams return to action after a day's break, with Rwanda Energy Group (REG) getting back to winning ways and former African champions Ferroviario de Maputo making it 2-0.

Julian Martinez’s REG recovered from a slow first-quarter start against DR Congo’s ASB Makomeno for a convincing 83-51 victory, putting them at 1-1 heading into the last group match. The team had lost their opening match 78-74 to Ferroviario de Maputo.

Ines Nezerwa, who has proven to be a crucial addition for the Rwandan champions, who finished fourth in last year’s competition, dominated on both ends of the court. She scored 15 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, added six steals, dished out two assists, and blocked two shots to lead the side to victory in a match they trailed 13-12 after the opening quarter.

“We finally found our tempo. It’s easy when the other team lets you do it, but we brought the energy. This is the kind of basketball we like and want to play. The important thing now is to keep doing it. The new players are now gelling with the rest. It’s a process, as we haven’t been together for long, but we are now on the same page,” REG Head Coach Julian Martinez said after the win.

Rosine Micomyiza’s back-to-back three-pointers in the opening minutes of the second quarter changed the game in favor of REG, helping them find their rhythm as they went on to dominate, despite the opening quarter witnessing seven lead changes.

She top-scored for the team with 17 points, going 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. Destiny Promise Philoxy was the third player to reach double digits with 13 points.

“The important thing was to play together. While I feel like we can do much more, in the second half we pressed and got easy baskets from it. Our defensive intensity also improved,” REG’s Aminata Ly said.

“We did well in the first half, but a lack of consistency in the second quarter changed the game and affected how we executed the rest of the match,” said Zimbabwean Dorcas Marondera, who scored 13 points for ASB Makomeno.

FIBA Women Basketball League Africa: MFM Queens in search of first win against FAP in a make-or-break encounter

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