SHEFFIELD (Julio Chitunda's African Message) - The new FIBA Ranking Women announced last week brought some changes among African national teams, and it confirmed Angola and Mozambique will face the very best teams at the 16-team 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women in Turkey.

Both African nations will make their debut in the tournament after finishing respectively winners and runners-up at AfroBasket Women 2013 held in Maputo, Mozambique.

After a back-to-back African title, Angola moved up three places – the highest in their basketball history - to joint-20th with Senegal, a team they have beaten at AfroBasket Women 2011 Final, before they upset them again in the Semis in Mozambique.

Both Angola and Senegal are now second highest ranked teams on the continent.

Silver medalist Mozambique remained 38th, and will be the lowest ranked team at Turkey 2014.

Despite a fifth place-finish in Maputo, Mali, who last played a world stage tournament at the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women (OQTW), remained Africa’s highest ranked team, but dropped a place to 17th.

Although both Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire moved up five and four places, respectively, no African team climbed higher than Kenya who moved seven places to 66th.

On the other hand, Nigeria’s 6th place in Maputo proved costly, as the two-time African champions (2003 and 2005) fell six places to 32th, but remain Africa’s fourth ranked team.

And, the Democratic Republic of Congo recorded the biggest drop after falling ten places to 61st.

When the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women tips off in September, only four teams will rank outside the top 15: Japan (17th), Angola (20th), Serbia (29th) and Mozambique (38th).

And, entering the top 15 is clearly one of the challenges African women teams will be facing next year.

Their historic record at the world stage tournament is documentally modest, and both Angola and Mozambique will have a chance of showing what Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia and Mali were not capable of doing in the past decade.

Senegal missed out on the qualification for next year’s tournament for the first time after six consecutive appearances (1990, 94, 98, 02, 06 and 2010).

Angola played at the 2012 London Olympics, lost all five games, but players and coaching staff insist they made the most of the experience and are ready for a better showing in Turkey.

Mozambique played at the 2012 OQTW held in Ankara, losing their two games against Korea and Croatia, but head coach Nasir Sale said recently they will compete to dignify African basketball.

Whatever "Dignify African basketball" and being "Ready for a better showing in Turkey" means, these two teams should display the same level of ferocity, tenacity and determination they used in Maputo and show it in Turkey in order to move up into the top 15.

The FIBA Ranking Women would become extremely meaningful for African teams when they start balancing their game against their European, Asian and American counterparts.

I would like to be one of those optimists who believe Angola and Mozambique may cause some upsets in Turkey.

Here is my view or bigger picture to this year’s ranking:

Angolan’s campaigns in the past two years paid off; Mali’s top position is under threat if they keep falling on AfroBasket for Women; Senegal needs to reinvent its basketball programmes after two decades of African dominance; like Senegal, Nigeria desperately needs a dedicated homework, and Mozambique has to bring its recent international experience to the table, and do better in Turkey 2014.

Julio Chitunda

FIBA

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