Egyptian powerhouse, Sporting Club Alexandria lived up to their reputation, by winning the inaugural edition of the FIBA Africa Women’s Basketball League (AWBL), and they did so by resoundingly thumping Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) 103-59 in the final of the remodeled championship, played on Tuesday, in the Egyptian city of Alexandria.
Sporting Club, as winners of the last edition of the African Women’s Club championship, and host of the transformed 2023 competition, won comfortably by claiming each of the four periods; 22-15 36-17 29-17 16-10; as the KPA Women struggled to match them, on all fronts.
Again, it was Hager Amer that stood out for Sporting Alexandria by contributing 32 points, 9 rebounds and a solitary assist; which were far superior to the 12 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists recorded by Victoria Reynolds for KPA Women.
Earlier, Inter-Clube of Angola handed Rwanda Energy Group (REG) Women BBC their second straight loss in as many games, when beating the East Africans 83-68 to win the Bronze, or classifier for 3rd and 4th; thanks to a strong first half performance that saw the Angolan champions win the first and second quarters 27-21 27-17 which culminated to a 54-38 halftime lead.
Meanwhile, Nigeria Customs outclassed Equity Bank Hawks of Kenya 83-53 to finish a modest 5th out of the ten teams that took part in the remodelled championship; while the Kenyan side, settled for the sixth position.
The victory also means, the Customs Ladies as Zone 3 Champions, won back-to-back-to-back games, to bring their tally to four wins and two defeats (4/2), from four Pool games, and two matches in the playoffs.
For the first time in the tournament, the Customs Ladies Coached by the duo of Mohammed Abdulrahman and Ogoh Odaudu also won all four periods – 18-16, 19-12, 23-18 and 23-7; kudos to the ever reliable Captain Nkem Akawaiwe who poured in 28 points, made 6 assists, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks.
In the first match of the day, Université de Douala of Cameroun walked over their compatriots Overdose Up Station, in the classification for 7th and 8th positions; while CNSS of the DR Congo had on Monday finished in 9th spot, when thrashing ASPAC Cotonou of Benin Republic, in the playoff for 9th and 10th.
