WINDHOEK (Namibia) - Sporting Clube de Luanda secured their place in the main Women's Basketball League Africa (WBLA) tournament in Cairo, Egypt in December by finishing top of Zone 6 Group E.
Sporting, who will be making their tournament debut, defeated Bravehearts 83–55 at the DHPS Indoor Court on Saturday.
This was their second victory in the qualifiers, following an opening win against UNAM Phoenix on Friday.
TURNING POINT: Sporting employed a full-court press, which proved effective as they established an unassailable 25–12 lead in the first quarter.
The Angolan club did not relent in the second quarter, and the Bravehearts were unable to respond to the pressure they were under.
Conceição Caetano and Magda Mussol led the club with 12 and 11 points respectively.
Sporting went into the interval with a 49–26 lead.
HERO: Magda Mussol, Nelma Cunha and Conceição Caetano all scored in double figures again.
Mussol led the team in scoring with 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Cunha scored 16 points, all of which came at the offensive end, and grabbed seven rebounds, while Caetano scored 15 points.
STATS DON'T LIE: For the second day running, Sporting statistically dominated their opponents.
They capitalised on turnovers, scoring 35 points, and scored a further 25 points from fast breaks. They also scored an impressive 54 points inside the paint and 18 second-chance points.
They dominated in other key stats too, outrebounding the Bravehearts 48–43 with 22 rebounds coming at the offensive end. Their defensive efforts resulted in six blocks and 21 steals.
BOTTOMLINE: Sporting executed their strategy to great effect. The Angolans' implementation of the full-court press broke the Bravehearts. They showed their opponents no mercy during the two-day competition and are well worthy of their spot in the WBLA tournament.
FIBA