DAKAR (Senegal) – It will be action galore as this year’s edition of the Women Basketball League Africa (WBLA) tips off in Dakar, Senegal December 6-15.
The fact that only four out of ten teams in last year’s title race in Alexandria, Egypt is a show that the game is seeing good growth. It therefore will be interesting to see who lifts the trophy when the final whistle goes on the last day.
Two Egyptian sides remain a potential threat.
The Rwandan have regrouped and are knocking on the door. They are out to put up a show while the home girls ASC Ville de Dakar have a historic record to worry about.
CAN ASC VILLE DE DAKAR CONTINUE HISTORIC HOME RUN?
It is worth noting that four times, Dakar has hosted the tournament, and four times the Senegalese clubs have won the continental crown.
Will ASC Ville de Dakar keep that trend and make the home crowd happy?
It started in the inaugural show in 1985 when AS Bopp won the show. DUC lifted the crown three times in 1993, 1997 and 1999. Since the last one, it’s been a long drought as the home crowd hasn’t had anything to honk about in years.
Moustapa Gueye-coached team will bank on the exploits of Fatou Diagne and Malian Elisabeth Dabou. The Dakar club will have the crowd strongly behind them but, whether they will keep the home side winning trend remains to be seen.
EGYPTIAN TWO PRONGED THREATS
Egyptian top guns Alexandria Sporting Club (ASC) and Al Ahly Sporting Club will launch a twin assault in the competition and remain very much the teams to beat.
ASC are the reigning two-time Africa champions while Al Ahly SC are the FIBA Africa Zone 5 Queens.
Parading some of the most polished players in Africa, the duo has the firepower and the capability to shake the rest of the pack in the 12-team,11-day competition in the Senegalese capital.
ANGOLANS MISSING IN ACTION
It will be a rare spectacle as Angola, whose teams Interclube and Primeiro de Agosto, dominated the event capturing eight titles between them between 2006-2017 and finishing as runner up 11 times, will not be represented this time round.
Absent too are last years’ silver medalist Kenya Ports Authority (KPA). The ever present Dockers were relegated to fourth position during a tough Zone Five Qualifiers in Zanzibar in October.
Those misses aside, there are enough teams to cause ripples in the championship with Egypt, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) each represented by two teams.
Mozambique, Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire will all have one team in the annual club festival that is expected to live up to expectations if the memories from last year is anything to go by.
IS IT TIME FOR RWANDA PODIUM FINISH?
Of the lot, Rwanda Energy Group (REG) and Nigeria Customs battled it out in the last championship finishing in third and fourth positions in that order.
The Rwandan sides REG and APR have recruited well, boosting their chances of a first ever podium finish by making some eye-catching signings across the board that include established stars.
Nigeria has dominated at the national team level winning four successive trophies, but they have yet to do the same at the club level. They have Mountain of fire and Miracles to make them proud.
There are so many quality players from in and out of the continent who will parade in Dakar all ready to showcase their talents on the biggest club stage. The time to impress is right here with us.
FORMER AFRICAN CHAMPIONS
Historically, only two of the twelve teams have lifted Africa's women's clubs competition. Sporting Alexandria and Ferroviario de Maputo.
JEANNE D'ARC REPLACE NIGERIA'S CUSTOMS
Senegalese club Jeanne D'Arc received a last-minute call to replace Nigeria Customs, who pulled out the competition.
PARTICIPATING TEAMS:
AS Villa Dakar and Jean D'Arc (Senegal), Alexandria Sporting Club and Al Ahly SC (Egypt), Mountain of Fire and Miracles (Nigeria), Friend’s Basketball Association (Cote d'Ivoire), ASB Makomeno and CNSS (DR Congo), REG and APR (Rwanda), Ferroviaro Maputo (Mozambique), and Forces Armees & Police (Cameroon).
FIBA