CAIRO (Egypt) - Ferroviario de Maputo got their Women's Basketball League Africa (WBLA) title defence off to a flying start!
The Mozambican champions outclassed First Bank on Nigeria 85-48 on Saturday in Cairo.
Forwards Stefania Chiziane and 2019 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Ingvild Mucauro led the "Locomotivas" with stellar displays.
Mentally, we have to be more prepared than ever - Ingvild Mucauro
Coach Nasir Sale's rotation reflected a solid squad able to rely on all 12 players as each was on the floor for more than 10 minutes.
As they chase their fourth continental trophy, Chiziane and Mucauro combined for 35 points, the former top scoring with 22 while adding three assists, two steals and as many rebounds for 24 in efficiency rating. Mucauro, however, topped the ratings with 25 off 13 points, coming two rebounds shy of a double-double and three assists off a triple double. Off 16 steals, she contributed a team-high five.
In a dominant 34-7 opening quarter that all but won the game for the defending champions, Chiziane went on an 11-point run in the opening five minutes, adding a trey to finish with 14 in the period, Mucauro adding seven in those ten minutes.
Ferroviario de Maputo's bench finished with 42 points against First Bank's 27.
After the game, Mucauro shed light in their opening win, saying: "This year the competition is tougher as teams have prepared and recruited well and we know it will be harder for us as we have a target on our backs. However, we are approaching this, game by game and we can't think about the next phase without handling the preliminaries. We won today, which was our objective and now the focus turns to game two as we work our way to where we want to get."
Mucauro continued, "The roster is a bit different from last year's. We made a few additions to add something different to the team but the approach will be the same. We will remain focused, be the fighters that we are until the end. Mentally, however, we have to be more prepared than ever. The teams already know what we can do and we have to be stronger than that."
FIBA