Published on : 26/09/2021 – 20:58
African champions in 2017 and 2019, the D’Tigresses make the pass of three. In the final of the 2021 edition of the women’s Afrobasket, Nigeria took the upper hand over Mali (70-59), Sunday, September 26. Never worried, the players of Otis Hughley Junior sit a little more their domination on African basketball.
Disappointing during Tokyo Olympics, where they lost their three meetings and finished in 11th and penultimate place, the Nigerians still have their hands on the African continent. Unbeaten since the semi-final of the Afrobasket 2015 against Cameroon, they did not miss the opportunity to lift the continental trophy for the fifth time in their history. Sunday, the Malians did not succeed in breaking this hegemony (70-59).
From the outset, in the multipurpose sports palace in Yaoundé, Cameroon, Nigeria took the lead with a three-point shot from Victoria Macaulay. A first fact of the game which illustrated a glaring difference between the reigning African champions and the outsiders: the success of three-point shots. The Nigerians converted 7 of their 17 attempts – including a 100% success for Macaulay, in three shots – while the Malians shot 22 times for … only two baskets returned, by Nassira Traoré (1 of 3) and Assetou Traoré (1 of 6).
A supremacy unprecedented for 40 years
At the end of the first quarter, the D’Tigresses were leading 22-11. The Malians believed to revive in the second quarter by passing five baskets against no cashed, to return to 26-22, then to 27-24 behind. But Nigerian superiority became clear after the break. After three quarters, the favorites were 21 points ahead. A chasm that Mali could not fill against a Nigeria in management in the last 12 minutes. On the crestfallen faces of the members of the Malian team, it was easy to read that mass was being said.
With this final victory (70-59), the D’Tigress achieved a “three-peat” (three consecrations) unprecedented for 40 years, at the time when the Senegalese had won four Afrobasket in a row (1974, 1977 , 1979, 1981). Sacred in 2003, 2005, 2017, 2019 and therefore 2021, never defeated in the final, the Nigerians are indeed the best African basketball players in recent years. The “four in a row” of the Senegalese will be their next goal in 2023. For the Malians, it will be necessary to come back to win a second continental title after that of 2007. Before the final, Cameroon beat Senegal (53-49) in the match for third place.
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