ABIDJAN (Côte d'Ivoire) - Cameroon opened their 2025 Women's AfroBasket Group B campaign on a winning note, seeing off South Sudan 70-63 in an entertaining encounter on Sunday, July 27, in Abidjan.
The Bright Starlets of South Sudan, making their debut in the tournament, brought the same energy they had in their 55-53 loss to Mali in the opening game, but the 2021 bronze medalists, Cameroon, held their own to pick their first win of the competition.
Both sides opened action with hot hands from deep, South Sudan's Adut Bulgak hitting two as Nyamer Lual Diew added one, in the opening three minutes while Marina Ewodo gave Cameroon their first, down the stretch to trail the East Africans by one (12-11).
Josiane Tientcheu leveled the score at 16 from the charity stripe, going ahead to take Cameroon's first lead as the quarter ended 17-16.
Despite American-born Jessica Thomas and Joelly Belleka dropping threes of their own in the second stanza, the debutants carried a 32-31 advantage to the break.
TURNING POINT: A 19-11 third quarter for the Central Africans, sparked by an 8-1 run in the final three minutes of the stanza, saw them pull away for 50-43. South Sudan, however, kept knocking to trail by four with just over five minutes to play.
However, everything that could go wrong for Alberto Antuna's charges did as costly turnovers, shaky defense and some clutch shots for the Cameroonians, meant the wait for maiden win for the debutants continues.
HERO: Thomas and Joelly Belleka's 19 and 16 points respectively to top score for the Cameroonians, combined with Marguerite Effa's 12 were crucial. However, a quiet double-double for Dulcy Fankam for 10 points and 13 rebounds, saw her finish with a game-high 18 in efficiency rating, leading her side to victory.
STATS DON'T LIE: There was little separating the two sides heading to the halftime break in a game that had, so far, had six lead changes and give ties.
South Sudan did, however, dominate the paint 16-6 after a 8-for-15 show.
Both sides took care of the ball spectacularly, despite the quick transitions, as the half ended with a combined nine turnovers, six for Cameroon resulting in four points for South Sudan.
BOTTOM LINE: Finishing with a 0-2 run, despite their spectacular show in the two gamaes, leaves South Sudan's chances fighting for a Quarters berth through the Round of 16.
Cameroon, on their part, have a date with Mali on Monday, 28 July with the winner getting a direct ticket to the Last Eight.
WHAT THEY SAID: "It was important to start the championship with a win. Every game counts, especially the first group games. We knew winning this game would put us in a good position for tomorrow and boost our mindset moving forward. We want to show that Cameroon is here to win. We respect South Sudan as a good team, but we came ready to play. We gave it our all, and we are excited for what lies ahead.
"South Sudan is a very good team. We watched them play yesterday, and for a first-time team, they are brilliant. That’s why we had to take them seriously. "We have the potential to go far in this championship. We have the talent and mindset to win. We just need to believe in ourselves." – Camreeroon forward, Marina Ewodo.
FIBA