D'Agosto and InterClube to battle for African Champions Cup for Women title

SFAX (African Champions Cup for Women) - Two Angolan teams reached the Final of the 2014 African Champions Cup for Women (ACCW) in Sfax, Tunisia, on Saturday after beating their counterparts from Tunisia and Nigeria.

Sunday’s title game will be a rematch of last year's ACCW Final played in Meknes, Morocco, between InterClube de Luanda and Primeiro D'Agosto.

In that decisive game last year InterClube prevailed in the final second 61-60.

On Saturday, Angolan champions D'Agosto reached the Final of the tournament thanks to superb performances from Leia Dongue and Latia Williams, who carried the team to a 60-55 victory over ACCW hosts Club Sportif Sfaxien (CSS).

Dongue recorded her fourth double-double in five games, having finished with game-highs of 28 points and 11 rebounds, and Williams came up big when Jaime Covilha's team needed her most.

CSS fought hard to get back into the game. Down by nine heading into the final quarter, they cut the deficit to four points in the final minute. However, that's when Williams took over D'Agosto's offense as she finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Playing in front of their home fans, CSS came close to upsetting D'Agosto (5-0), but Ana Goncalves - the only Angolan who featured at the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women to score in double digits and make a real impact in Saturday's Semi-Final - came off the bench to hit two crucial three-pointers and spoil the hosts' hopes.

Brittany Denson's 12 points and 13 rebounds sparked CSS, but the Angolans confirmed their intentions of playing for the title.

D'Agosto's hopes of repeating their 2006 ACCW title remain alive, but they need to overcome their city rivals InterClube (6-0), a team they lost twice to in the Africa Zone 6 qualifier last month in Maputo, Mozambique.

InterClube, the ACCW reigning champions, reached the final with a 69-53 defeat of Nigerian side First Bank in Saturday’s other Semi-Final.

The Angolans, who surprisingly were held to a tie game (31-31) at the half, knew they needed to play their own brand of basketball to overcome a very determined and ambitious First Bank team.

That was the moment Sequoia Holmes and Ngiendula Filipe stepped up to deny First Bank in their attempt to make a second ACCW Final appearance since 2011, when they lost at home to InterClube.

Holmes hit four three-pointers as part of a 20-point performance, while Filipe added 17 and Italee Luca's 14 points made the difference for the Angolan club, who will play their fifth consecutive ACCW final. 

InterClube have won three of of the past four ACCW editions.

In the classification games, INSS of the Democratic Republic of Congo edged out Kenya Ports Authority 62-46 and Nigerian side Dolphins prevailed over Club Sportif Police de Circulation (CSPC) 67-64.

It was Dolphins' second victory over CSPC, following a 68-59 win in the preliminary round.

FIBA