Mozambique’s Leia Dongue has recorded her second double-double in the second day of the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women in Ankara, Turkey, on Sunday, but her country was unable to avoid a 89-45 defeat to France.
Dongue added 11 rebounds to her 18 points, while Deolinda Ngulela poured in 10 points and a team-high six assists, nevertheless the game leaned to the European champions, paced by the Sandrine Gruda, who led all scorers with 19 points.
Following a nerve-racking loss to the hosts the day before, France opened the game with a 8-0 run, forcing Dongue, Ngulela and Co to step up their game.
In fact, the Mozambicans did react and took the lead midway through the first quarter (13-10), but when the French responded with a 10-0 run to close the opening quarter with a 20-13 lead, Nasir Sale’s team’s resilience evaporated.
By halftime, the European side led 47-21.
Valerie Garnier’s team knew how damaging Rute Muianga could become if left wide open, and decided to tighten the defence against the Mozambique forward, who managed only a three-pointer in three attempts.
Although Mozambique are yet to play Turkey, who made a significant step towards the Final Phase by beating Canada 55-44, this second defeat leaves the Africans on the brink of elimination, considering the Turks would not concede a loss in front of their homes fans.
Diandra Tchatchouang joined a group of three players who scored ten points or more for the French.
Mozambique struggled with their ball handling, which resulted in 21 turnovers. Their bench players could not help much as they were outscored 47-12.
“It is an amazing experience to be able to play in a tournament which I saw on television as a child,” said Dongue.
“It is a dream to play against players at this level and against those who play in the WNBA – in some cases, against players who actually inspired me to continue playing basketball.”
ANGOLA FALL TO CHINA
In Istanbul, African champions Angola tried to bounce-back from their record 60-point defeat against Serbia on Saturday – by scaring China in the first minutes of the game, but they could not avoid a 65-39 loss, their second straight defeat in the 16-team tournament.
The Asians, who trailed 10-6 early on, reacted with a 9-0 run, took control of the game before the end of the first quarter and never trailed again.
By halftime, Angola trailed 30-15.
Nacissela Mauricio, the only Angolan to record double-digits, led all scorers with 18 points, but the Chinese secured their first win in the tournament, which bolstered their chances of advancing to the next round.
“These kind of games and, especially these defeats we conceded here, will serve as a lesson for us,” Mauricio said afterwards.
“If we keep focused in the game, I am sure we’ll play a good game (against the US). If we are to lose, we’ll try to avoid a big margin.”
BELARUS SURVIVE THRILLER
The Cubans were denied their first Group C win by Belarus.
Cuba led by eleven points with three minutes remaining, but all of a sudden Belarus re-energised themselves to seal a 70-69 triumph.
Katsiaryna Snytsina hit a decisive three-pointer with 14 seconds left to put the Europeans in front and record an astonishing comeback.
Snytsina, who finished with 18 points, and Yelena Leuchanka, who added 20 points and a tournament-record 18 rebounds, ignited Belarus to what might be their ticket to the next round.
If Belarus beat Australia – who trounced Korea 87-54 – on Tuesday they will finish top of Group C and gain automatic qualification for the quarterfinals.
The Cuban duo of Leidys Oquendo and Yamara Amargo combined for 37 points – more than half of the points for the Caribbean who won the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship.
It was a nerve-racking win for Belarus.
Even a defeat crossed Leuchanka’s mind, though they managed to bounce back.
She explained that if they had to win the contest it was going to be a tough one, but they needed to get in the defence end.
“I’d rather lose a game giving hundred percent than losing a game knowing that I could have done better,” she said.
As for Snytsina’s contribution, Leuchanka added: “We’ve been playing together for so many years. Between us it is more like a sisterhood than teammates.”
Cuba head coach Alberto Zabala paid tribute to the winners.
“It was a great game of basketball and we lost to great a team.
“We lacked experience because we can’t miss free-throws the way we did in the final moments of the game.
“We’ll get ready for Korea because we aim to advance to the next round,” he said.
Belarus share top of Group C with Australia who trounced Korea earlier in the day.
In battle for Group A leadership, the Czech Republic overcame Japan 71-57 and Spain saw off Brazil 83-56.
In the final action of Day 2 Ana Dabovic poured in a game-high 24 points for Serbia, but the defending champions US prevailed for a 94-74 victory.
