ANKARA (FIBA World Championship for Women) - Already one of the stars of African basketball, Mozambique kingpin Leia Dongue is taking her game to another level at the FIBA World Championship for Women.

While she hasn't been able to propel her team to the surprise victory they crave, her double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds against Les Bleues showcased her ongoing potential at the elite level.

Even the numbers don't tell the whole story. She went toe-to-toe with Sandrine Gruda and in the final seconds produced one of the plays of the tournament so far with a monstrous block on Diandra Tchatchouang.

"It is an amazing experience to be able to play in a tournament which I saw on television as a child," said Dongue.

"It is a dream to play against players at this level and against those who play in the WNBA - in some cases, against players who actually inspired me to continue playing basketball.

This is our very first FIBA World Championship and therefore it is hugely important to us. - Dongue

"Playing in Ankara Arena two years ago (at the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women) was an important step to get further international experience.

"However, this is completely different and now we are playing against the very best of the best.

"We had more security and confidence against Canada in the first game and probably just made to many errors against France."

As for her almost leaping out of the Arena in the last minute - was it one of her finest individual plays?

"I guess it was," smiled Dongue, who can expect it to be replayed over and over again on the tournament highlights reel.

FIBA