Alexandria Sporting Club eyeing AWBL title

Alexandria Sporting Club (ASC) are looking to be crowned winners as Egypt hosts the newly introduced FIBA Africa Women's Basketball League (AWBL) from December 11-19.

The side won the FIBA Africa Zone Five tournament, beating Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) 78-67 in Dar es Salaam last year and a few weeks later became the first Egyptian side to be crowned FIBA Africa Champions Cup Women (now AWBL) champions.  

Mohamed Abdelrahman-coached side has eyes firmly set on lifting the inaugural AWBL and with compatriots Al Ahly opting out of the continental showpiece, they will carry the hopes of millions of Egyptians across the country.

“We started training for the tournament in August and we are ready. We have what it takes to successfully defend the title and anything short of Gold will be deemed a failure. I think we are better than we were last year so we can defend our title and win the next one,” he told FIBA.basketball.

In his stable are all the players who did duty for the team in the last championship and, to improve their chances of a repeat, he has beefed up the squad by injecting four more front-court players to the team.

The new recruits are post players Hala Elsharawy and Nour Talat as well as forwards Aya el Feqy and Senegalese Yacine Diop. Captain Hagar Amer, named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the two tournaments in Dar es Salaam and Maputo, is still as hungry for success as ever and will once again lead the team from the front.

Like in the previous campaigns, Mohamed will rely on four of his players who also turn out for the Egyptian national side. Apart from Ager, there is Asraf Maged, Reem Mousa and Nourhan Ahmed.

Among the teams that have booked their tickets to the 2023 festival include Kenya Ports Authority (Kenya), and Rwanda Energy Group (Rwanda) who clinched the two spots in the FIBA Africa Zone Five Qualifiers. Equity Bank who finished third got a wild card.

Up Station and Universite Douala (Cameroon) have also secured their flights to the Egyptian capital. From Angola comes the threats posed by giants Primeiro de Agosto and Interclube.

‍

[Image/Photography Credit: FIBA]