Senegal, Nigeria battle for Group B top spot

BAMAKO (FIBA Women AfroBasket 2017) - Defending champions Senegal will be looking to finish the group stages on a high note when they take on Nigeria in their last Group B match at the ongoing FIBA Women's AfroBasket 2017 on Wednesday. 

Both teams are unbeaten at the biennial continental tournament with four wins after four games and have already booked their places in the Quarter-Finals but maintaining a winning streak will be important for them going into the business end of the tournament. 

Senegalese forward Astou Traore told FIBA.basketball: "It is important for us to win every game that we go into because ultimately we have one goal and that is to defend our title. It is not easy to do that but we shall give our very best."

Moustapha Gaye's side is playing incredible basketball, quality to the bone and with the experience of senior players like 2015 Most Valuable Player Traore, Mame Marie Sy, Ndeye Sene and Oumoul Thioum, Senegal are the team to beat at this competition. 

Nigeria have their work cut out and following their improvement in every other game with WNBA 2017 Draft Pick Evelyn Akhator leading their charge, the two-time African champions will be up to the task. 

Akhator admitted that she has earned the trust of her teammates since the tournament started and now they know that they can rely on her but indeed they will need to work together as a team to defeat Senegal. 

Meanwhile, two more slots are available to the Quarter-Finals and at the heart of this battle will be 2015 finalists Cameroon, Tunisia and Cote d'Ivoire in Group A. 

Unbeaten Angola sit on top of the group with eight points while the hosts Mali are second with seven, however, even though Cameroon sit in third place tied on six points with Cote d'Ivoire in fourth, it is far from over. 

Cameroon face a revamped Mali side looking for their third win at the tournament, a huge task in itself but even though they lose, they will need Tunisia to see off Cote d'Ivoire. 

The Ivorians know this and will come into this one with the same attitude like they did on Tuesday when they took on Angola and came so close to stunning the southern Africans who had not been faced with such a challenge at the tournament. It was indeed a thriller of a game. 

Tunisia, who sit in fifth place with five points know that a win over Cote d'Ivoire will see them make the last eight on their first appearance at the tournament since 2011. Ben Abdallah's side has shown that they have the character worthy of playing against the big basketball nations. 

In the other games, Democratic Republic of Congo face Guinea in the first encounter of the day with both sides in search of their first win at the tournament before Egypt square off against Mozambique for the battle of third place in Group B.

Angola will be up against Central African Republic in their last Group A tie looking to maintain their 100% winning streak before the Quarter-Finals. 

FIBA