Dominique Malonga passed by the TGB and Ajsa Sivka current player of the Tarbais club were selected last night, by clubs of the North American championship.
It was one of his dreams, and he got it up last night in new York. The ex-player of the TGB, Dominique Malonga (1.98m) was officially called in WNBA.
The 19-year-old tricolor international was selected by the STORM of Seattle in the second position of the Draft of the North American Women’s North American basketball championship WNBA, in New York, the best ranking in history for a Habs.
The pivot (1.98 m) from ASVEL, a Olympic silver medalist last summer with France, was chosen just behind the new American basketball star Paige Bueckers, 23, drafted in first position by the Dallas Wings.
No Frenchwoman had been classified as well since Isabelle Fijalkowski in 1997, but it was at the time in a scholarship reserved for professional players, when the WNBA had just been born.
Tribute to Tarbes and ASVEL
“I am so proud to be there,” launched the native of Yaoundé, capital of Cameroon, on the Shed stage, the New York room where the draft was held, in English. “My family is there, they know all the work it took to get there,” she added. She paid tribute to her clubs, Tarbes and Asvel, and also praised her fans “in Cameroon and in Congo”.
-Dominique Malonga joins a dozen other compatriots like Marine Johannès, who re-signed with the defending champions of the New York Liberty, or his future teammate at the STORM in Seattle, the Ailière des Bleues Gabby Williams.
Promise to a brilliant future since its professional debut in October 2021, one month before his 16 years, Dominique Malonga is released from a convincing regular season with ASVEL (17 pts and 10.6 rebounds on average per match, championship and Eurocoupe combined). She also distinguished herself by becoming the first Frenchwoman in Dunker in an official match (October 30 in Eurocoupe).
A performance that has not gone unnoticed in the United States, where observers readily resume comparison with Victor Wembanyama, another very mobile and very large precocity phenomenon, chosen in number 1 by the San Antonio Spurs during the Draft NBA 2023.
Dominique Malonga arrives in a championship in full renewal, where the most prominent players, like the Americans Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and soon Paige Bueckers are icons that count their subscribers on social networks in millions.
Ajsa Sivka : from Tarbes to Chicago
Another player of the French championship, currently at the TGB, the Slovenian AJSA Sivka was selected in n ° 10 by the Chicago Sky. The large (1.92m) 19 -year -old Tarbaise wading, too, had been crowned MVP from Eurobasket U18 and combines this season 7 points, 3 rebounds and 2 medium passes in LBWL.
The TGB praised the success of these two players: “Two inspiring courses, two immense talents which have carried (or still wear) proudly the colors of the TGB. We are extremely proud of you and we wish you the best for this new adventure! ».
Recall that last season, the Tarbais club had seen another of its players drafted by a WNBA club. It was the talented leader Carla Leite.
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