ABIDJAN (Cote d’Ivoire) – The Women's Basketball League Africa (WBLA) qualifiers for FIBA Africa Zone 3 teams got off to a surprising start on Friday, with First Bank of Nigeria registering a 66-55 shock win over CSA of Côte d'Ivoire, while the host team, Friends Basketball Association, fell to a 63-56 defeat at the hands of Beninese champions, Energie.
It was not an easy win for First Bank, as it took them time to get into the game.
Against all expectations, the hosts FBA lost their opening game to Energie of the Benin Republic, which dented their confidence in their ability to defend the Zone title they won in Liberia in 2024.
First Bank keeps it late to subdue CSA
The Elephant Girls, as they are fondly known by their admirers, started slowly but held their fire until late in the game to secure a victory over the vice-champions of Côte d'Ivoire.
All it took for First Bank to take the lead for the second time in the game was Wandoo Hembam’s 3-point jump shot with just 3:50 left on the clock in the fourth quarter.
This was the turning point of the game for the Nigerian side, who never looked back, putting their foot down.
They lost the first quarter 16–9, won the second quarter 14–13, and ended the first half 7 points behind. The third quarter was closely contested, but CSA won it 14–13. The final quarter turned out to be the best for the bankers, who ran away with a massive 30–12 victory in a game that saw three lead changes.
Hembam scored a game-high 24 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists with an efficiency rate of 22, while Momoluwa Tewogbade added 13 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 17:41 minutes on the court.
Despite playing with just nine players, Coach Julie Negedu and her assistant Seun Akinwale had to dig deep.
Hanna Amani of CSA scored 11 points, had 1 rebound and made 1 assist to lead her team on the court, while Ndeye Sene contributed 11 points, had 1 rebound and made 2 assists. Coach Aboulaye Lucien Coulibaly will need to change tactics for the next game.
Energie shock host FBA
Fans of FBA who came to watch their team at the Palais des Sports de Treichville were disappointed with the outcome of the game, in which the hosts lost 63-56.
However, they were treated to an excellent display of basketball.
Energie started strong with an 18-16 win in the first quarter, but then lost momentum in the second quarter, falling behind 22-12.
However, there was a resurgence in the third quarter, with Energie running away with a 16-5 win, and they gave no room to the hosts in the last quarter, winning 17-13.
There were seven lead changes in the game, with Nassarat Arouna Mama recording a double-double of 17 points, 15 rebounds and two assists to secure victory for her team. Bintou Traoré added 17 points and 8 rebounds, and Aku Afetse scored 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist.
Veronica Keita, meanwhile, despite scoring only 8 points, was one of the players who defended stoutly, grabbing 12 defensive rebounds and providing 2 assists.
The head coach of Energie, Oswald Quenum, put his scouting of the Liberian champions from last year to the test, and it worked in his team’s favour.
Djeneba Sangare scored a game-high 19 points and 4 rebounds, but this was not enough to prevent her team from losing. Priscilia Amalabian added 10 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist.
A total of 19 turnovers by Coach Lemou Benga’s team, as opposed to 18 by Energie, contributed to the defeat. In addition, the FBA's poor rebounding (49 compared to their opponents' 64) may have affected the players.
FIBA