Mozambique outplay Cameroon to finish fifth

 

KIGALI (Rwanda) – Mozambique and Uganda closed their 2023 FIBA Women's AfroBasket campaigns in Friday's Classification Round with wins.

Mozambique finished on the top place of teams that missed out Semi-Finals thanks to 74-65 win over Cameroon in the battle for the Fifth-Place.

It was Mozambique's second straight Fifth-Place finish in the history of the tournament after clinching two Fourth-Place finishes in 2017 and 2019.

In the game for the Seventh-Place Uganda grabbed dispatched Guinea 85-44.

Here's a look back at what happened on Friday at BK Arena in Kigali

MOZAMBIQUE v CAMEROON

Cameroon showed resistance but couldn't contain Mozambique

Mozambique finished their 2023 FIBA Women's AfroBasket on a victorious note by beating Cameroon 74-65.

Mozambique came to Kigali as title contenders but their title dream ended with a 59-52 loss to Nigeria in the Quarter-Finals.

Chanaya Pinto, who averaged 6.7 points and 2.2 rebounds, agrees that Mozambique need to refocus for the next Women’s AfroBasket.

"This is basketball, you win or you lose. Unfortunately, we came up short against Nigeria and this was not what we expected. But we still have a lot of time left and we just have to learn for future tournaments and refocus.”

The two tough games Mozambique won against Uganda and Cameroon, however, feel like an achievement for the 1.85m (6ft 1in) forward.

"This is my second Women's AfroBasket and we finish  fifth So, I'm very happy my team and what we did here,” Pinto said..

UGANDA - GUINEA

Uganda finished at the 7th place after defeating Guinea

In their first FIBA Women's AfroBasket appearance since 2015, Uganda exceeded expectations by finishing seventh thanks to an 85-44 win over Guinea.

Guinea were never in position to contest for the 7th, even though they showed some resistance during the first quarter.

The Guineans even had a short-lived lead (9-5), before Uganda eventually outran them and never trailed again. 

From there, the Gazelles, led by Jannon Otto, were headed towards victory. Leading 40-25 at half-time, they had a successful run (22-16) before completely outscoring Guinea in the final quarter (23-3).

Jane Asinde accounted for 15 points and 5 rebounds

Otto once again stood out for Uganda, scoring 21 points, while Jane Asinde claimed 15 points and grabbed 5 rebounds and two steals.

Asinde told FIBA. Basketball that finishing among the top-8 teams was an amazing feeling, but that Uganda still need to progress.

"When we came here, we were underdogs, but we played our game and we're among the best teams in Africa. Now, we're looking forward to finishing higher at the next Women's AfroBasket. I'd like to thank the fans for the support they gave us along the way here," Asinde appreciated. 

The 2023 FIBA Women's AfroBasket resumes on Saturday with two games to determine the champion, runners-up, third-placer and fourth.

FIBA