Following tense clashes in the quarter finals of the ongoing 2017 Federation of International Basketball Association (FIBA) Women’s Afro Basketball Championship, the last four slots were yesterday secured by Nigeria, Mozambique, host Mali and ranging champions Senegal at the Palais des Sports Salamatou Maïga.
The D’Tigress of Nigeria booked the first semi-finals slot after an astonishing 98-43 win over Cote d’Ivoire to record their 6th semi-finals and extended the head-to-head record to a two-game margin.
The unbeaten D’Tigress through its top performer Ezinne Kalu and highest point scorer Osaretin Akhator proved supremacy throughout the quarters by leading the score by 23-13, 23-2, 25-17 and 27-11 from the first to fourth quarters respectively.
Later in the second game, Mozambique upset one of the title’s favorites Angola after a shocking 61-47 points triumph to join Nigeria in the semi-finals. Angola displayed a splendid performance in the first quarter with the scores at 16-6 points before Mozambique responded in the second quarter by taking the lead with 17-4 points.
The final half was an intriguing moment between the two sides’ top performers, Leia Dongue (Mozambique) and Italee Lucas (Angola) as both continued to scored points in search for a win to book a slot in the next stage, Mozambique’s Dongue became the best top performer after scoring 27 points and 14 rebounds out of her team’s 61 points.
Host country, Mali reached the semis after crushing out former back-to-back champions Egypt by 90-50 points in yesterday’s third quarter finals match.
The final ticket to the semi-finals was won by defending champions Senegal, in a repeat of last edition’s final after defeating Cameroon 71-58 points in the battle of the lioness.
Who are the Finalists?
The finalists will be decided today when Nigeria battle against Mali, while Mozambique will go against record title holders Senegal.
Feature Photo: FIBA.Basketball
