MONROVIA (Liberia) – Seven clubs from FIBA Africa Zone 3 are set to slug it out in Paynesville City on the outskirts of Liberian capital Monrovia for two tickets to the Final Round of the 2024 Women's Basketball League Africa (WBLA).
The games are billed for the Samuel Kayan Doe Sports Complex Basketball Gym from November 5-10.
This year’s Zone 3 WBLA Qualifiers promises to be full of excitement especially with a marked improvement from the last edition in Abuja, Nigeria, 2023 that had only three teams (MFM, Nigeria Customs and ASPAC) in attendance.
This time around, there will be a robust battle of teams ready to give their best shot for a place in Dakar, Senegal in December.
The teams set to compete in Liberia are as follows:
Commissioners Female Basketball Association (Liberia) Invincible Eleven (Liberia) Mountain of Fire and Miracles (Nigeria) Nigeria Customs (Nigeria) Energie Basketball Club (Benin) Societe Omnisport de l’Armee (Côte d'Ivoire) Friends Basketball Association FBA (Côte d’Ivoire).
HOW THEY QUALIFIED
Commissioners defeated Invincible Eleven in the grand-finale 3-0 in the best of five series to emerge champions of Liberia.
As the home sides, they look to give a good account of themselves and push Liberia basketball back into reckoning knowing that they have been out of touch for a long while.
They will enjoy the support of their home fans that are sure to throng the 2000-seat arena to watch the best teams from the region.
MFM will be attempting to make a strong comeback to the continent after failing to make it out of the Zone Qualifiers last year when they shockingly lost to ASPAC and Nigeria Customs.
In the 2024 season MFM retained the Nigerian League title won for the first time last year when they defeated Nigeria Customs, 64-53 points to emerge champions for a second year running.
Coach Ochuko Lawal says they have learnt their lessons and will not take any team for granted this time around while Coach Abdulrahman Mohammed is leaving nothing to chance in Liberia to secure one of the two available tickets.
FBA won the 2023/24 title in Ivory Coast. They overcame SOA 2-0 in the Final series.
FBA closed the campaign with a final 56-41 win. For a team that has shown a strong presence and defeated former champions, there is something to look out for as they intend to prove their mettle in Liberia.
Societe Omnisport de l’Armee (SOA) is a new team to the women's club Championships but that is not to say that they cannot hold their own. Surprises often come from little known teams as others find them a handful.
Dakar is the place to in December
Energie BBC prepared with determination for the 2024 WBLA qualifiers from the words of the team’s President, Edwige Adohinzin Hountondji, there seems to be some level of confidence.
The official said: "I believe the players are well-prepared by the technical staff. Our ambition is to qualify for the final phase in Senegal, and we have made all necessary arrangements."
Team coach Oswald Quenum shared insights into the team’s progress: "We've strengthened the squad, and recent games have allowed us to test these additions. The team’s level is promising. We're not entirely there yet, but we believe we can go far in this competition. Our goal is to be among the top two teams that will qualify."
As Énergie BBC embarks on this crucial campaign, they do so with a clear objective: to secure a place in the WBLA qualifiers finals and make Benin proud at the continental stage.
The second edition of Women's Basketball League Africa will take place in Dakar according to FIBA Africa.
Dakar will be the second African city - since Cairo last year - to host the newly-revamped FIBA Africa Women's Basketball League.
Twelve teams from different corners of the continent are expected to participate in the event.
Alexandria Sporting Club are the title holders after beating Kenya Ports Authority in the final last year in Egypt.
FIBA