CAIRO (Egypt) - For the first time in four consecutive participations in the Women's Basketball League Africa (WBLA), Congo DR's CNSS have opened their campaign on a winning note, beating debutants Bravehearts of Malawi 66-42. Head coach Koko Ade, while acknowledging the strides the side has made over the years, believes they need to do better if they are to achieve this year's target of improving on their seventh-place finish from last year.
We have a good squad - Coach Koko Ade
The side had a solid start against the Malawians, taking the opening quarters 20-6, and 16-8 to take a 22-point advantage to the halftime break. Ade's side was, however, challenged in the second half, taking the third stanza 13-7 before allowing Bravehearts to dominate the final for 21-17. CNSS might have dominated in most fronts, but they were outrebounded 65-48, a statistic making coach Ade nervous ahead of their other matches against bronze medalist APR and ASC Ville de Dakar, two of last year's Semifinalists.
What's more, their 23 turnovers have left the coach more jittery, arguing that such mistakes will be severely punished by their two remaining Group opponents. Bravehearts turned the ball over 50 times, CNSS scoring 32 off those. Coach Ade said: "Our focus is on those two teams and our performance today doesn't inspire confidence. We cannot play like that against these teams. We challenged APR last year in the group stage, losing 73-68 so we know what we are capable of and this was below par. We will regroup and do better as the target is to reach the semis." He continued: "The team has improved with each competition and last year we lost in the quarters to eventual finalists Al Ahly Sporting, going on to finish seventh, and we intend to do better here. We have a good squad that has been strengthened by the Mali signings and I believe we have what it takes to compete at a higher level."
FIBA