CAIRO (Egypt) - After eight days of intense battles at the Prince Abdallah Al Faisal Sports Hall in Cairo, Egypt, the last four teams standing are ready to clash for the podium.
It's as if they're reading from last year's Women's Basketball League Africa (WBLA) script: all four semi-finalists in Dakar have made it through.
Defending champions Ferroviario de Maputo face Senegal's ASC Ville de Dakar in the first semi-final, while hosts and reigning silver medallists Al Ahly Sporting Club take on third-placed Armee Patriotique Rwandaise (APR).
Here's what's in store for Saturday's 2025 WBLA semi-finals.
WATCH THE 2025 WBLA SEMIFINAL HERE.
Can Ferroviario de Maputo hold ASCD to keep title defense campaign alive?
Ferroviario de Maputo made through to the semis off a hard-fought victory against debutants Sporting Clube de Luanda, and whether they can withstand the Moustapha Gaye-coached Senegalese champions' onslaught remains to be seen.
ASC Ville de Dakar head to the decisive game boasting a superior shooting advantage from inside (46.6% to 41%), but the three-time champions have a better conversion rate (26.6% to 22.2%) from deep. The latter has also a slightly better points average from the four games played (76 to 74), but Gaye's side had been more dominant on the boards.
Their last meeting dates back to the 2022 continental showpiece where Ferroviario de Maputo rallied for a 62-53 victory, and the Senegalese will be on a revenge mission as they chase a maiden final berth.
ASCD's charge has, so far, been led by American shooting guard Aliyah Matharu who has averaged 20.8 points with Mame Khoudia Fall taking charge on defense with a 10.5 average on rebounds.
Meanwhile, coach Nasir Sale's side has shared the responsibility almost equally, but 2019 Most Valuable Player Ingvild Mucauro and two-time champion Stephania Chiziane are leading on efficiency and points average respectively.
Speaking after the team's qualification to the semis, Matharu, who emphasised the team's strength is their defense, said: "We are taking it game by game, focusing on what we can control, which is defense and playing our best. As long as we keep that mentality I don't think we will have any problems. There's nothing more we can do as long as we give 110 percent and that's what we are trying to do."
Coach Nasir Sale believes his team's rotation will be important in the semis, saying: "We struggled in the second quarter in the quarter final due to a change in strategy on defense but the biggest undoing is we lost many scoring opportunities on the layup and didn't take the shots from range when we had the space. We have to change that in the semis. However, I believe if we are well concentrated and the bench players step up as they should, we should be fine. We will bring a different mentality in this game."
On her part, Carla Covane, who sounded the alarm after the side allowed Sporting Luanda to trouble them in the quarters, preached caution, saying: "When you're playing against a good team you don't get the chance for comebacks so we have to work on our mistakes and make adjustments where needed before the semi final. Any mistake will be punished so we have to be at our best."
APR face herculean task against the hosts
Al Ahly Sporting Club have had the crucial sixth-man support in all their four games, and as they face a star-studded APR, the arena will be rooting for them. But will that be enough?
The hosts, chasing a maiden title at home, face an APR side with a better shooting advantage from the floor (55.7% to 53.8% in 2PT and 32.5% to 26.8% on 3PT), and despite coming into the semis on a 3-1 show having lost their opening game to ASCD, their starting line up has managed to carry them through to the last four.
Al Ahly Sporting's charge has, so far, been led by veterans Hagar Amer, a two-time champion with Alexandria Sporting (2022, 2023).
Amer averaged 19.3 points in four games, managing double-doubles in all but the quarter-finals clash against CNSS. The 2022 Most Valuable Player's (MVP) dominance on the paint, alongside Raneem Elgedawy has been crucial for the hosts.
However, they face an APR side that, despite relying on a lean rotation, has proved lethal from deep and has distributed responsibility almost equally with former MVP Italee Lucas leading the scoring, Assouma Uwizeye, usually coming off the bench, rebounding and Destiney Philoxy leading the assists chart for the side.
Heading to the semis, Philoxy believes they have what it takes to take the championship, saying: "I see us making it. We know who we are and we are chasing the championship. Last season we came third and we want it. Regardless of who is in front of us, the only way is through them not around."
Right after their quarter-finals victory, Al Ahly Sporting head coach,Tarek Abouzied, said: "We face a strong side in APR and we have to be locked in on defense. In the quarters we allowed CNSS to score 41 points because our transition defense and boxing out was not good. We also turned the ball over 24 times which we have to work on. APR are good offensively and we need to counter that while ensuring our own offense does not suffer."
FIBA