Mozambique surpass Angola, Zimbabwe finish on high note

BULAWAYO (Zimbabwe) - Mozambique defeated Angola 74-73 to keep a perfect 6-0 streak while Zimbabwe defeated Zambia in what was both teams' last game of the FIBA Women's AfroBasket Zone 6 Qualifiers in Bulawayo.

The ultimate face-off will see Angola once again confront Mozambique in the ticket decider for the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket in Kigali, Rwanda, in July.

With this result, Mozambique extend their winning streak to 6-0, while Angola confirm that they have a hard time facing their opponent.

Each of the two times they clashed during these Qualifiers, Mozambique emerged as the most solid and victorious.

Meanwhile, hosts Zimbabwe played their last game in these Zone 6 Qualifiers. And they made it a point of honor to leave the tournament with a 67-47 victory against Zambia.

Mozambique - Angola (74-73)

With this win, Mozambique position themselves as favorites to win the regional qualifies and clinch the only ticket available for Zone 6.

But unlike the previous match between the two countries, Angola offered more resistance this time. And it shows in the score (74-73).

Italee Lucas was the one to lead the charge against Mozambique as she was the lead scorer for Angola with 24 points. Cristina Matiquite also did her part, with 21 points and 7 rebounds, while Nadir Manuel grabbed 11 rebounds, more than anyone else on the court.

But these efforts were to no avail as Mozambique were more realistic. Though they finished the first quarter with a 4-point deficit (25-21), they slowly built up and took the lead at half-time, though it was only a 2-point margin (45-43).

And they sped up in front at the third quarter, finishing on a score of 14-9. With that 6-point margin, they let their defense down. And Angola entered into a scoring frenzy that saw them finish with 21-15.

But at the final count, these were of no use, as they had allowed too much space to Mozambique, who had four players in the double digits.

Invigild Mucauro (19 points), Stefania Chiziane (16 points), Carla Covane (13 points), Silvia Veloso (10 points), and an bench that produced 41 points, proved too much for Angola.

With Monday being a rest day, both team will have time to ponder on their tactics ahead of the final game, on Tuesday.

Will Angola turn the tables around?

Zimbabwe - Zambia (67-47)

Zimbabwe finished their campaign with a significant win over Zambia, though it avails to nothing much. The hosts made it a point of honor to grab a win in front of their fans. And what a win it was. They simply made Zambia look small, finishing the game 67-47.

Surprisingly, it was Zambia who made the first bold move, as they finished the first quarter with a 7-point advantage (16-9). And though Zimbabwe finished ahead in the second quarter (13-10), Zambia still had a 4-point margin to work with.

That’s when Tadiwa Mabika and Yolanda Matayataya decided to step up. And let’s just say that they did a good job, producing a double-double (20 points, 11 rebounds) and 15 points and 5 rebounds respectively.

Tadiwa Mabika

And finishing the third quarter on a 19-14 note in favor of Zimbabwe was the turning point of the game. The hosts went full throttle and had an extremely organized defense as they allowed only 7 points while they scored 26 points.

Mercy Kawagu and  Mirriam Mulambo were Zambia’s top minute getters, and thus, spent their time doing a bit of everything, each scoring 8 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

FIBA