Ville de Dakar and Ferroviaro Maputo book semifinal tickets in second WBLA edition

REG vs ASC Ville de Dakar

The game between REG and ASCVD was one of the most anticipated games of the day. The two teams were evenly matched coming into this contest. Both teams ended second in their pools after suffering only one defeat each. REG was also looking to follow in the steps of their country women and book a ticket in the semifinals like APR did. They proved this endeavor by getting off to a firing start.

They got a good first quarter lead and played impressive defense to ensure an 18-8 first quarter lead. They were led by Destiney Philoxy who was also the top point scorer in the group stages, averaging just under 17 ppg. Ville de Dakar managed to find their footing and fired back in the second quarter only to still trail 29-23 at the half. They were led by Kamite Dabou who has been consistent in this tournament. They began to believe that a comeback was possible after a strong second quarter showing.

The second half brought with it many complications. In the third quarter, momentum swung back in favor of REG as they completed a 19-12 quarter and took a commanding 48-35 heading into the fourth quarter. The home fans rallied behind their team to show them support as they would make one last push to give themselves an opportunity to book a spot in the semifinals. These chants and support carried them through as they turned what seemed an irreversible lead to tie the game at the end of regulation at 55 apiece.

This was a result of their defense to stop the talented REG side by allowing them only 7 points in the fourth quarter while they score 20. This fourth quarter effort was led by none other than Kamite Dabou but this time, Fatou Pouye was there to help her. Momentum heading into overtime was fully with Ville de Dakar who also had the arena backing them. They took advantage of the fact that coach Julian Martinez of REG did not rotate his players much and played Aminata Ly the whole game and Destiney Philoxy 44 out of 45 minutes.

This began to show in overtime as they were not as productive as they had been all game. This ultimately led to Ville de Dakar winning 61-57 and advancing to the finals. Aminata Ly had 10 points and 18 rebounds while her teammate Ines Nezerwa had 15 points and 12 rebounds but it was not enough to get them past the 9 points and 11 rebounds by Fatou Pouye and 16 points and 10 rebounds by Kamite Dabou whose team’s hopes of winning the tournament on home soil remain alive.

Fatou Pouye had the following to say:

With this crowd, what can we do? They were giving us energy… At some point, we were very tired, but we just need to keep going and do better on our defense. We gotta make sure we play good defense and make the easy lay-ups.

Ferroviaro Maputo vs Jeanne d’Arc

This was the second time the two teams met in the competition, but this time, the stakes were higher. Ferroviaro topped their pool after they won all their games and Jeanne d’Arc qualified as one of two top third placed teams. Jeanne d’Arc knew that this would be an uphill battle but remained resolute to make the most of this encounter.

It was Maputo who opened the account after a rather slow start for both teams, but the Senegales team responded with a 3-point shot by Bata Hamel. Both teams began to trade baskets until about halfway through the quarter when Maputo began to pull away and eventually end the quarter with a 22-12 lead. Jeanne d’Arc fired back in the second quarter after an impressive defensive performance that limited Maputo to only 8 points while they scored 14 points. Stephanie Chiziane scored 6 of the 8 points Maputo scored in this quarter whereas Jeanne d’Arc had multiple scorers as they kept their rotation going in the quarter in order to maintain this defensive intensity.

The second half was completely different. The spark that Jeanne d’Arc had was quickly snuffed when Maputo came out guns blazing in the half. They put on a defensive masterclass by limiting the Senegalese side to only 7 points and 11 points in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. All the while scoring 35 points in the half. This second half burst propelled them to a very comfortable 65-44 win while they prepare for their semifinal appearance. Ndeye Konteye led her team with 12 points and 7 rebounds but it was not enough as Stephanie Chiziane of Maputo erupted for 20 points to lead all scorers and her teammate Ingvild Mucauro recorded a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.

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[Photography / Imagery Courtesy of FIBA]