DAKAR (Senegal) – Congolese CNSS, who qualified for the quarter-finals as one of the two best third-ranked teams, could do nothing against Al Ahly Sporting Club in the first match of the Women’s Basketball League Africa (WBLA) 2024, Friday, bowing 89-36.
A first quarter of 27-5 for the Zone 5 champions, revealing the difference in level between the two teams, set the pace for the rest of the meeting, the other quarters ending, as could be expected. expected, by 25-10, 21-8 and 16-13, the Egyptian champions having dominated on all fronts.
CNSS were only a shadow of the team that handed outgoing champions Alexandria Sporting Club their first defeat in three editions, a defeat that saw the Egyptian team finish in last place in the phase group.
THE TURNING POINT OF THE MATCH: Tarek Abouzied’s players gave the CNSS no chance to build anything, starting the match with an 11-5 run, including seven for Ndioma Kané in the first five minutes to give his team momentum. CNSS only resisted in the last quarter of an hour, Bintou Drame, who was the team’s star player, and Véronique Mendy contributing four points each.
HEROINE: WNBA talent Dyaisha Fair made 4 of 5 shots from distance and 4 in the paint to finish the game with 20 points. She grabbed five rebounds, made three assists and two steals for an efficiency rating of 27.
THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE: With a 55-point victory, Al Ahly SC dominated on all fronts, hitting 14 of 34 three-pointers, which largely contributed to their success. CNSS scored just five in 29 attempts. The Egyptian team went 27-9 on counter-attacks, with their bench also contributing 39-14.
CONCLUSION : This performance makes Al Ahly SC one of the favorites for the crown vacated by their compatriots, while CNSS, who finished ninth in the 2023 edition, will try to repeat their feat of 2022, where they finished seventh.
THEY SAID: “Apart from winning, we wanted to win slowly to avoid injuries and make good rotations to rest all the players for the upcoming matches.”
“The competition is getting tougher and tougher, but we are ready for the semi-finals. We try not to put pressure on ourselves as we move forward. We have wanted this title since last year and even if the attention is on us, we’re taking things in the right direction and we’re getting ready to win.” Aliaa Gamel, assistant coach of Al Ahly.
FIBA
