ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - Former African silver medalists Cameroon beat rivals Mozambique 60-40 in the fifth-place classification match, improving one spot from their last outing in 2023.
Meanwhile, hosts Côte d'Ivoire held their own against the hard-fighting Uganda Gazelles, settling for seventh place—a significant improvement from their 11th-place finish in Kigali, Rwanda, two years ago.
In this article, we highlight the fifth to eighth classification games.
Cameroon finish strong for fifth
The 2021 bronze medalists from Cameroon raced to a 60–40 victory over the 2013 silver medalists from Mozambique, taking fifth place.
This game was a rematch of the 2023 matchup for the same classification, in which the Central Africans lost and finished sixth.
Scoring only two points in the first five minutes while allowing 13 to Cameroon forced Mozambique to play catch-up for the entire game, which was an arduous task against a team that proved to be lethal with their perimeter shooting. They finished with a 12-for-29 record compared to Mozambique's 9-for-29.
"We are happy to have finished fifth. Playing six games in a week is not easy so we were tired but qualifying for the FIBA World Cup qualifying tournaments was a goal we had so we are excited," Cameroon Forward Marina Ewodo.
"Looking back from two years ago, I have to congratulate Cameroon as they did their assignment well. We had a good start to the tournament understanding that the competition is a game of runs and is won quarter by quarter. Little details and mistakes we committed, both offensively and defensively, over and over again were our main undoing. We need to work on those and grow from there," Mozambique Forward Chanaya Pinto.
Le Elephants beat Uganda to improve to seventh
The Cote d'Ivoire Elephants won the seventh-place playoff clash against the Uganda Gazelles, 78-71. The East Africans had a late resurgence, but could not finish strong.
The Ivorians dominated the second quarter 25-5, carrying a 47-24 lead into the second half. The Elephants led 65-43 with one minute and 12 seconds left in the third, but the Gazelles went on an 8-0 run to make it 65-51 heading into the fourth.
The East Africans had the momentum, coming threateningly close at 70-67 and further at 71-69 with just over a minute to play. Some costly fouls, however, gave the hosts the chance to pull away for victory.
"We have the good will now and we are building something with this squad. The championship is very competitive and we are looking to be better with each edition. We are picking great lessons and a lot of motivation from the best teams that showcased here. I am confident in the federation and the plan they have for women's basketball," Cote d'Ivoire Head Coach Stéphane Leite.
"After the loss to South Sudan the energy was not as good as when we came and that's what we need to work on as a team going forward. Coming here and representing the country has been a learning curve. We have picked a few small things that would have seen us do better had we gotten them right.
However, we have a talented squad that has a bright future. We got experience that could give a few more players deals out there and improve our performance, but I am proud of how far we came," Uganda Gazelles small forward and captain Jane Asinde.
FIBA