Hungary and Czechia won the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Pre-Qualifying Tournaments held in Rwanda and Mexico and booked two tickets in the 2026 World Cup Qualifying Tournaments.
On August 25, in Kigali and Mexico City, the first-ever FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Pre-Qualifying Tournaments came to a close. The Europeans emerged victorious, securing two spots that FIBA allocated to the 16 teams that did not qualify for the Olympics.
Hungary and Czechia defeated Senegal and Korea in the finals, respectively, earning two early slots in the 24-team pool for the next rounds of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.
In a tournament held in Kigali, Senegal, undefeated until the final, lost the championship game 47-63 to Hungary. The West Africans were totally dominated by the Europeans, with Virag Kiss scoring 17 points, which earned her a place in the tournament’s first team.
Virag Kiss, alongside her teammate Reka Lelik, the MVP of the tournament, Senegalese Kane Ndioma, Great Britain’s Holly Winterburn, and Rwanda’s Bella Murekatete, complete the All-Star 5.
Bella Murekatete finished the tournament as the most efficient player, having topped the rebounding chart and coming in second in points per game. The Rwandan center averages 17.5 PPG and 11.0 RPG and led Rwanda to a fourth-place finish behind Hungary, Senegal, and Great Britain.
Similarly to Rwanda, Mexico, which hosted Groups A and B, finished fourth. Czechia, Korea, and Montenegro ranked first through third, respectively.
Hungary and Czechia will have to wait until next year’s continental cups to find out which of the other 22 teams will join them in March 2026 to vie for the final 16 teams that will compete for the World Cup in Germany.
