The Kenya lionesses flourished against Egypt 99-83 to win the Zone V and book a ticket to the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket in a six-day tournament played at Kigali Arena in Rwanda.

Kenya started the tournament losing against hosts Rwanda, won the second encounter against South Sudan before suffering a heartbreak against Egypt in a game that ended 107-106, which made them finish in third place.

In the semi-finals, The Kenya Lionesses came back stronger and revenge against Rwanda to advance to the final in hopes of participation in the AfroBasket scheduled in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

On Saturday, July 18, 2021, the very motivated and energetic side, Kenya, came away victorious in a well-deserving victory 99-83 against Egypt.

The Kenyans led the Egyptians 29-24 in the first quarter and held a 50-42 advantage at the break. Kenya was still ahead 77-69 after the third quarter with the same momentum in the fourth to finish off the game in style, 99-83

Victoria Reynolds, debuting for Kenya in this tournament, recorded a game-high 25 points on 10 for 13 shooting, including 2 of 2 from beyond the arc. She finished the game with 76 FG%

The USA-based player who was aiming to qualify for her native country and followed in the footsteps of her father “Ben Wanjara” who represented Kenya in the 1993 AfroBasket, was also awarded as the tournament’s best small forward as well as the tournament’s most valuable player.

The Kenya Lionesses join the hosts Cameroon, 2019 champions Nigeria, finalists Senegal, third-place Mali as well as the fourth semi-finalists, Mozambique who automatically qualified for the event.

Cape Verde will represent Zone 2 while other zones are to complete their qualification games before the end of the month. 2 wild cards are expected to be given.

Rwanda National Women’s Basketball Team clinched 2nd place in 2021 FIBA ​​Women’s AfroBasket Zone 5 Qualifiers group stage games after outplaying South Sudan 65-52.

Wednesday evening at Kigali Arena, the group stage games of Zone V qualifiers concluded with Rwanda finishing in second place behind undefeated Egypt.

Rwanda, under the leadership of Dr. Cheikh Sarr, recorded 2 wins and 1 defeat in the 3 games played. They will challenge the Kenya Lionesses in the semi-finals on Friday, the team they overwhelmed in the match opener 77-45. The final and third-place games will be played on Saturday, July 17, 2021.

The winner of this qualifier will earn a spot in the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket 2021 arranged in Yaoundé, Cameroon from September 17th to 26th, 2021.

With the inclusion of the hosts Cameroon, 2019 champions Nigeria, finalists Senegal, third-place Mali as well as the fourth semi-finalists Mozambique automatically qualified for the event.

Cape Verde will represent Zone 2 after beating Guinea in Conakry in a two-game-series qualifier. Only two countries participated.

Other zones are to complete their qualification games before the end of the month.

Rwanda routed Kenya 77-45 in the first game of the 2021 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket Zone 5 Qualifiers while Egypt showed no mercy to South Sudan, who is making their debut international game.

July 12, 2021, in the AfroBasket Zone Five qualifiers tournament in Kigali, Rwanda women’s national team captain, Tierra Henderson recorded an unbelievable performance as her 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists led her home country to a 77-45 triumph over Kenya. She used her dynamic set of skills to get there.

Another excellent performance was from USA-based Bella Murekatete who came out aggressive, collecting a stat line of 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists.

However, we cannot forget to highlight performances by Sifa Ineza. Young Sifa, in the second period of the game, hit back-to-back three-pointers from the same spot on the court to speed up the lead.

On the other hand, Mercy Wanyama, who scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, was the most efficient in the Kenyan team.

Earlier, forward Raneem Elgedawy led Egypt to a convincing win over South Sudan with 23 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, Hagar Amer followed with 19 points and Soraya Degheidy tapped 14 points.

Nyamer Lual Diew was the only player to score in double digits for Lindsey Harding’s squad, and she finished the game with 16 points. This was the first official international game for the South Sudan women’s basketball team. The match ended 95-65 

Kenya faces South Sudan on Tuesday, July 13 at 3:00 pm local time before Rwanda plays Egypt at 6:00 pm on the same day. All the games are at Kigali Arena.

Cape Verde accompanies the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, and Rwanda to complete Group A of the 2021 FIBA AfroBasket to be held in Kigali between August 24 and September 5, 2021.

Uganda’s games of AfroBasket qualifiers group E were halted on February 18 in Monastir, Tunisia, following the decision taken by FIBA to postpone them because five members of their delegation tested positive for Covid-19.

Thursday, July 8, 2021, at Salle Omnisports El Bouazzaoui, Salé, Uganda beat Morocco, 77-65, to qualify in second place behind Egypt and will be placed in Group D alongside Senegal, Cameroon, and South Sudan in 2021 AfroBasket scheduled in Kigali, Rwanda.

The victory earned Uganda’s Silverbacks the third consecutive participation, having attended the 2017 and 2019 editions then. For the first time, Five countries from Zone Five will take part in the African Championship of Nations “AfroBasket”

Morocco’s loss resulted in an irreparable catastrophe as they will finish their qualification games with seven points in fourth place. Thus, Cape Verde immediately sealed a 2021 AfroBasket ticket as the team that will advance to the third place of Group E and goes straight into Group A with the hosts Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Angola.

2021 AfroBasket Groups:

Group A: Rwanda, D.R. Congo, Angola, and Cape Verde.

Group B: Tunisia, Centrafrique, Egypt, and Guinea.

Group C: Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, and Mali.

Group D: Sénégal, Cameroun, South Sudan, and Uganda