Algeria and Morocco to square off in two-game series for AfroBasket Women 2015 place

ALGIERS (AfroBasket Women 2015) - Algeria face Morocco on Thursday (30 April) in the first leg of the Zone I qualifiers for AfroBasket Women 2015 and the All-Africa Games at "Salle Staoueli" in Algiers, Algeria.

Algeria will try to book a ticket for their sixth participation in the most prestigious African women's basketball competition.

At AfroBasket Women 2013 in Maputo, Mozambique, the Algerians finished 11th.

Meanwhile, Morocco - who have been absent from the top women's basketball competition in Africa since 2000 - take aim at securing their second-ever participation.

"This participation in the tournament of Algiers is a new start for our women's national team," said Omar El-Nouhi, the coach of Morocco.

His Algerian counterpart, Yacine Bellal, revealed that there is no other alternative for the host than to qualify: "[Playing] in front of our fans, achieving the qualification is imperative. The players and technical staff have worked hard for several months to get the ticket for AfroBasket Women 2015.

The second leg of the Zone I qualifier will take place on Friday (1 May) in the same venue.

So far, eight of the 12 countries that will compete in the tournament taking place from 24 September to 3 October in Yaounde, Cameroon are already known. They are: Cameroon (hosts), Angola (defending champions), Mozambique and South Africa (Zone VI), Senegal and Mali (Zone II), Gabon (Zone IV) and Uganda (Zone V).

AfroBasket Women 2015 is a qualifying tournament for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

FIBA