Four nations set to do battle for last qualifying ticket for the 2023 AfroCan
The winner of this qualifier will be added to Group A in the 2023 AfroCan alongside Kenya and Gabon. It's the last qualifying ticket for the 12-nation AfroCan as FIBA Africa will attribute one wildcard.
ABIDJAN (Cote d’Ivoire) – Three nations from FIBA Africa Zone 3 and another one from Zone 2 are in Abidjan to slug it out for a ticket to the 2023 FIBA AfroCan to be held in Luanda, Angola next month.
Zone 3's Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria and Zone 2's Guinea look battle-ready for action at the Palais des Sports de Treichville.
The four-nation regional qualifier will run from Friday, June 30 to Sunday, July 2.
Cote d'Ivoire
The winner of this qualifier will be added to Group A in the 2023 AfroCan alongside Kenya and Gabon. It's the last qualifying ticket for the 12-nation AfroCan as FIBA Africa will attribute one wildcard to complete the tournament's line-up.
Host nation Cote d’Ivoire will be looking to make a return to the AfroCan Final Round hoping to better their 10th place finish in 2019 but will have to be at their best against Benin, Nigeria and Guinea to secure a place.
Nigeria, on the other hand, finished 11th place at the inaugural edition of the AfroCan and have set a target of returning to the championship.
According to the head Coach of the Nigeria team, Ogoh Odaudu, the team is in Abidjan for business.
"We're not here for sightseeing but strictly for business. Our target is to get the qualification ticket first and then prepare for the bigger battle. Our participation in 2019 was a learning experience and we don't to let this opportunity slip off our fingers," he stated.
As for Benin, they will be attempting to get the ticket to have a feel of the Final Round. The Cheetahs, as the team is called, had two weeks of hard preparations before the 12-man roster was named.
The players of Benin are battle-ready with so much action still in them following the conclusion of the Benin League which saw seven of the players in action.
Team coach is Assad John Kadi who, incidentally is the man behind the success of Elan Coton Basketball Club, winners of the Benin League. He has six of his players in the squad and can bank on their chemistry for success.
If the improvement of the Benin league is anything to go by, then Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea and Nigeria won't have easy rides.
Guinea
At the 2019 AfroCan championship, Guinea finished 12th place and are eager to return in an effort to have a better performance and placement. The tiny nation has witnessed great improvement in basketball such that they desire make an impact in Abidjan.
The opening game of the Qualifiers is between host Cote d'Ivoire against new comers Benin while Nigeria will take on Guinea in the second game of Day 1.
June 30, 2023: CIV # BEN (1) – NGR # GUI (2)
Jul 01, 2023: GUI # CIV (3) – BEN # NGR (4)
Jul 02, 2023: CIV # NGR (5) – GUI # BEN (6)
FIBA