Your weekly dose of FIBA Africa Zone 2 News: Yacine Diop is relishing life as the new captain of Senegal’s women's basketball team while Guinean star Shannon Evans swaps clubs but stays in Spain.
Last Updated on
August 27, 2024
Senegal's U18 Men’s team now knows their opponents ahead of the Afrobasket U18 2024 in South Africa in September. Parfait Adjivon's team will be up against powerful opposition as they face Mali, Cameroon, and Côte d'Ivoire in Pool A. The FIBA Afrobasket U18 2024 will take place in Pretoria from September 1-14.
Senegal's objective will be to do better than at the last Afrobasket, where they were knocked out of the competition in the quarterfinals by Angola. Senegal’s U18 men’s team has been in camp for more than a month playing two friendlies against Seed Academy which they lost but coach Adjivon is unbothered, knowing that his side will go into the U18 AfroBasket in full throttle.
Senegal’s forward Yacine Diop is relishing the opportunity of being named the captain of her country’s national team. Diop who burst into prominence for Senegal aged 22 at the 2018 FIBA Women’s World Cup averaging 9.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists was recently named captain of the team, guiding Senegal to a second-place finish in the 2026 World Cup pre-qualifying tournament in Rwanda.
The Sporting Alexandria star averaged 7.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists to guide Senegal to a 4-1 streak in the qualifiers in Kigali, Rwanda.
It's good news. Everyone who works wants to progress. I wasn't expecting this appointment. I thought it was going to take years, but it didn't. Since I'm the oldest in the group, maybe that's the reason.
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In the meantime, Diop’s teammate Ndioma Kane was named in the All-Star Five of the 2026 World Cup pre-qualifying tournament. The 24-year-old forward was a marvel for Senegal, churning 16.6 points on average to rank fourth on the scoring charts, grabbing 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game during the competition.
Guinea’s star point guard, Shannon Evans, has joined the Spanish side, BC Andorra. The 30-year-old is linking up with his fourth team in Spain after stints with Real Betis, Valencia, and Badalona.
Evans will be expected to play a significant role for Andorra who will face Belgian side Antwerp Giants in the preliminary round of qualifiers for the 2024-2025 BCL as the Spanish team nurses hopes of sailing through to the group stages.
Last season, Evans starred for Badalona, featuring in 17 games for “La Penya” as the side is nicknamed, averaging 9.1 points and 2.8 assists in 20 minutes. He was a key asset for Badalona on the continental scene, where in six games he averaged 11 points and 4 assists in six EuroCup games.
Guinea will compete in the third edition of the eFIBA competition. Guinea alongside 16 other African nations will compete in the global gaming event. National Federations from across multiple regional areas around the globe will tussle for supremacy to secure the $50,000 prize pool on offer.
60 National Federations are expected to participate in the event, with the first action set to tip off on October 1, 2024, in the shape of the Regional Pre-Qualifiers and finish on October 14. On October 15, the Regional Qualifiers and Regional Finals will begin until November 7. Eight teams will qualify for the eFIBA World Finals, which will be played in person in December.
[Photography / Imagery Courtesy of FIBA, Basket 221, MoraBanc Andorra|
