KIGALI (Rwanda) - Twelve games into the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournament taking place in Rwanda, and four teams remain in contention while four others have been eliminated.
The Semi-Finals has turned into an Africa-Europe affair following the departure of representatives from the Americas and Asia.
Here's a look at how things evolved on Thursday at BK Arena in Kigali.
Senegal set rebounds record ahead of the Semi-Finals
Senegal not only extended their winning streak to a perfect 3-0, but they also set a record for most rebounds (70) in a single game.
And, the 25-point scoring difference (87-62) win over Philippines sees the West African country finish top of Group C. They will take on Rwanda in the elimination round.
Otis Hughley Jr's team are headed to the elimination round unbeaten thanks to their tremendous fighting spirit.
For the second game in a row, Senegal trailed by double digits early in the first quarter. Almost 48 hours after allowing Brazil four straight three-pointers in the first four minutes, on Thursday, the Philippines exposed Senegalese's inconsistent defense, making three straight threes to take a 13-2 lead.
It took Senegal 8:11 minutes to take their first lead (19-18) before recording their largest lead (77-49) in the fourth quarter.
One of the most outstanding players in the tournament, Ndioma Kane led Senegal with 21 points; Fatou Pouye and Khadidiatou Sarr added 13 and 12 points, respectively in the winning cause.
"The size difference, you can obviously tell on the court," said Philippines guard Stefanie Berberabe.
While Senegal remain in contention, Philippines are eliminated.
End of the road for Brazil
"It's not how you start, it's how you finish." This is Hungary's current state of mind.
The Women's EuroBasket 2023 semifinalists have seen enough after a 63-61 loss to Senegal in the opener of the Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournament.
Thursday's 87-66 win over Brazil saw Hungary advance to the Semi-Finals with a 2-1 mark and lots of ambition moving forward.
"We came to Rwanda to win this tournament. We faced some challenges early on, but we are now playing much better," said Virag Kiss who obliterated Brazil's defense with game-highs of 22 points while grabbing 7 rebounds.
Emanuely De Oliveira led Brazil with 21 points, Aline Moura added 19, but the South Americans struggled for most of the encounter to keep up with Hungary's disciplined and efficient game style.
"We locked in defensively because we knew that they can shoot from outside. Our good defense set the tone for our great offensive game," added Agnes Studer, who contributed 8 points and 6 assists for Hungary.
"We are taking positive lessons from this experience, for sure," said Brazil head coach Bruna Rodrigues.
While Hungary move on to the Semi-Finals, Brazil will now concentrate on the 2024 FIBA South American Women's Championship taking place next ween in Chile.
Burani's gigantic performance sends Lebanon home
Almost 24 hours after losing to Rwanda, Argentina head coach Gregorio Martinez admitted that his team had done enough, but waiting for the outcome of the game between the hosts and Great Britain to learn of their future in the competition caused him "some nervousness."
Martinez's remarks came minutes after Argentina beat Lebanon 60-49 to improve their mark to 2-1. "We are now rooting for Rwanda," said Argentina center Victoria Gauna, who contributed 2 points off the bench.
Argentina did everything they possibly could to neutralise a resilient Lebanon, and with Agostina Burani performing at such high level, they couldn't expect any other result.
Burani, the only Argentine to score in double digits, dominated both ends of the floor, finishing with game-highs of 23 points and 13 rebounds.
Argentina's second win in three games meant Rwanda needed to beat Great Britain to keep their Semi-Finals hope alive. Unfortunately for the South Americans, Rwanda faltered.
Great Britain silence BK Arena to win Group D
Rwanda stepped on the floor with a sense of urgency leading 10-2, 2:30 minutes into the game, but patiently Great Britain used a 14-0 run to take a 16-10 lead at the end of the opening quarter. They followed it up with 26-2 run and Anna Montañana's team went to the locker room with a comfortable 45-23 lead.
Maya Price came off the bench shooting 6-for-9 to finish with 12 points. She said: "We knew Rwanda would come with a lot of energy, we knew we needed to match that. That's how we came up with the win."
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Semi-Finals pairing
The Semi-Final pairings and schedule for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournament Rwanda are now confirmed following the successful conclusion of the Group Phase.
AUGUST 24
GBR v HUN - 17:00 Local Time
SEN v HUN - 20:00 Local Time
FIBA