Angola Claim Olympic Spot and a Place in History
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October 4, 2011 TheFreshOutlook  |
The Angola women’s basketball team gain revenge for an opening loss to Senegal by defeating them for AfroBasket gold medal.
That opening 63-42 defeat on September 24 looked to derail Angola’s bid right at the start but they didn’t panic, and grew in stature and performance as the tournament progressed.
After defeating pre-tournament favourites and hosts Mali in the semi-finals they then handed out a thumping 62-54 defeat to Senegal in the final, played in Malian capital Bamako, to gain their revenge, an AfroBasket gold medal and their first ever place at an Olympic Games.
31-year-old powerful forward Nassecela Mauricio won Most Valuable Player (MVP) for her part in the tournament but the star turn from the final was 26-year-old Sonia Guadalupe, who gave her country 23 points and six rebounds to help them to victory.
The triumph sparked scenes of delight back in the capital of Luanda, and Angola’s Minister of Sport, Goncalves Muandumba, declared: “We have to be happy because this title is a great satisfaction because it’s the first achieved by these players who deserve all of our affection and respect.”
After that opening defeat Angola hit back with wins over Rwanda, Nigeria and Guinea to clinch a second-place finish in Group B behind Mali.
They thrashed the Ivory Coast 72-51 in the quarter-finals and then came the 56-51 upset of Mali in the semis.
They led Senegal, who themselves had already posted impressive victories over the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria to get that far, 32-26 at half-time, but the Senegalese fought back to tie the final at 45-45 with just 10 minutes remaining.
But Angola moved up a gear and dominated the final quarter to put their names in the history books and bring some cheer back to Angolan basketball after the men’s team, Africa’s dominant force in the men’s game, lost their AfroBasket final to Tunisia a month ago in Madagascar.
By Leigh Gruffydd Sanders
[Image courtesy of salymfayad]