OUAGADOUGOU (Burkina Faso) – The final round of the FIBA U18 Women's Championship will feature three teams from Zone Three, including Benin, who emerged as the winners of the recently concluded FIBA Women’s U18 AfroBasket qualifiers in Ouagadougou.
Final Round host Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria, who finished second at the 2024 championship in South Africa, have secured their spots in the championship finals.
The Amazon will be returning to the big stage after 18 years, dating back to 2008, by virtue of their double win over Burkina Faso.
Benin won both of their games (62-56 and 49-46) to secure their spot in the Zone 3 Qualifiers at the Palais des Sports de Ouaga 2000 in Ouagadougou.
The Amazons dominated the first two quarters, 13-10 and 15-12, to end the first half at 28-22. Burkina Faso made a comeback in the third quarter, winning it 14-9, but could not maintain the pace in the last quarter, which Benin won 12-10.
In the first match of the double elimination tournament, Benin defeated the home team 62-56. They won the first quarter 18-14 but lost the second 13-12. They recovered in the third quarter, winning 19-12, but lost the last quarter 17-13.
The Amazons dominated in that game, with Stivine Tchiakpe scoring 35 points, just as she did in the second game.
For Coach Jean M'Po and his team, the focus is now on the task ahead in Côte d'Ivoire.
Burkina Faso was short on players, so Coach Eric Moyenga used a nine-man rotation.
According to FIBA.basketball, this was due to delays in securing the proper documents for three players.
A federation official stated that, due to the Baccalauréat examinations, several players were unable to obtain their passports in time to validate their licenses.
Furthermore, two players were injured during training and could not play.
Burkina Faso had to thank Nafissatou Quattara for her 13 points in the first game and Wendkuni Gansonre for her 15 points in the second.
FIBA