MOZ/ANG - Africa's gold chasers at AfroBasket Women 2013
MAPUTO (AfroBasket Women/FIBA World Championship for Women) - If Mozambique win Sunday’s AfroBasket Women 2013 Final they will become the fifth team to lift the trophy in the last five editions of the tournament. Otherwise, if Angola win, they would become the first team to win the event for the second time in a row since Nigeria in ...
MAPUTO (AfroBasket Women/FIBA World Championship for Women) - If Mozambique win Sunday’s AfroBasket Women 2013 Final they will become the fifth team to lift the trophy in the last five editions of the tournament.
Otherwise, if Angola win, they would become the first team to win the event for the second time in a row since Nigeria in 2003.
Mozambique and Angola secured their presences in the final with wins over Cameroon and Senegal respectively in Saturday’s Semi-finals.
The two teams have more similarities than differences. They are the only two teams in the tournament who remained unbeaten in seven games.
Both teams have a similar cultural identity and will make their debut in the FIBA World Championship for Women next year in Turkey.
Last year, Mozambique competed at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women (OQTW), but lost both games to Croatia and Korea.
Angola played at the London Olympics, and lost all five games.
Next summer, Mozambique will be back in Turkey in different circumstances, says point guard Deolinda Ngulela.
"It is a completely different atmosphere. Last year, the feeling was that we were pushed into the OQTW tournament," she said.
Mozambique competed at the OQTW because AfroBasket 2011 runners-up Senegal, as well fourth-placed team Nigeria, pulled out.
So, Mozambique who finished fifth accepted the invitation to become the second African team along Mali at the OQTW.
"Now, we achieved a place among the best in the world. We fought hard, and it is our own merit to be there," Ngulela said.
But Mozambique almost missed out on a place in the African tournament’s Final as they trailed for 37 minutes.
"We had the mental strength and we never gave up. We are in the final because we wanted to win it more than any other team."
Odelia Mafanela explains how they qualified for Turkey 2014 and what comes next.
"It is a great feeling to qualify for the World Championship. We spent many weeks away from our relatives, eventually, the hard work paid off.
"We are going to lift the AfroBasket trophy on Sunday, no doubt about it."
Angola’s Catarina Camufal missed a pair of free-throws with 12 seconds remaining, but she remained confident they would not lose that game.
"There was no secret. All we did was to keep our self-confidence level high and determination to win the game.
"It is a great feeling because we worked very hard to be in the position we are now," Camufal pointed out.
Angola’s backup guard Fineza Eusebio insisted their experience spoke louder to win the semi-final.
"This is basketball magic. You only win a game with the final buzzer. We have never stopped to believe. It is a blessing we won it.
"The difference between Angola and other teams who got affected and distracted by the home fans’ noise is that we are used to such atmosphere in Angolan basketball."
For former Angola international, now serving as head coach, Anibal Moreira is hoping for a quality game against Mozambique.
"I must congratulate Mozambique for their qualification for the World Championship, but we hope to have a clean game, and hopefully the better team will win without external influences."
"What happened between Mozambique and Nigeria (in the Quarters) was a shame for African basketball and we must respect everyone’s work."
Mozambique square off against Angola at 18:30 Local/CET time.
FIBA