FIBA Africa Women’s Champions Cup: KPA in Group A as tournament tips off

Reigning Kenya Women’s Premier League champions Kenya Ports Authority were on Thursday evening pooled in Group A of the FIBA Africa Women’s Champions Cup following a draw conducted by FIBA officials in Maputo, Mozambique.

The one week club tournament is penciled to tip off in the Mozambican capital on Friday 9 December till Saturday 17 December. The competition will involve 10 teams.

Thursday’s draw separated the sides into two groups of five teams across Africa, where the top four finishers from every group will meet each other in a one-off knockout game. The four winners will qualify for the semifinals and finals thereafter.

Classification matches involving the quarter final losers for positions 5-8 will take place as well as the third place game on the final day of the championships.

Joining KPA in Group A will be Costa do Sol (Mozambique), CNSS (DR Congo), Energie BBC (Benin) and Interclube (Angola).

“The group looks easy on paper but it is a toughie,” KPA head coach Anthony Ojukwu stated after the draw. “We need to approach each game at a time, get to the quarters and the semifinals at least.”

True to Ojukwu’s assessment, all sides in Group A bar one have tasted the continental showpiece, with the record champions Inter Club also taking a seat on the table.

Funded by the Angolan National Police, Inter Clube de Luanda have clinched the championship a record five times, a stretch arising from constant qualifications from 2010 to 2019.

The club has strengthened its squad with two international players – roping in Kosovan Alexis Tolefree and Sherise Williams.

KPA among 10 teams set for Africa Champions Cup

In the group are also the fast rising CNSS and Energie BBC who have shown progress over the years.

CNSS finished fifth in the 2019 championships just after a sixth place finish in the team’s debut in the 2018 tournament in Maputo.

Energie BBC of Benin made the cut for the 2019 games, losing in all games but there exists hope in the Pryyhus Sindehou side that has last recorded a big 65-35 win over Renaissance BBC in Benin before embarking on their trip.

The only debutants in the group come in the name of the reigning Mozambican league champions, Costa do Sol, a team led by reigning Africa Champions Cup MVP Ingvild Mucauro and with a top level winning head coach, Leonel Manhique.

KPA have never tasted a podium finish in the Champions Cup, with the best finish for the Kenyans coming in 2017, when the Dockers finished fifth.

“The preparations were good enough, we just hope that our plan will work effectively,” Ojukwu mentioned. “We have set the target and that is to make the podium places. The players have to stay focused and keep concentration throughout the Championship".

On the other side of the draw, Group B consists of reigning champions Ferroviario de Maputo (Mozambique), APR (Rwanda), AS Ville de Dakar (Senegal), Alexandria Sporting Club (Egypt) and Overdose Up Station (Cameroon).