FIBA Women's Afrobasket draw and what you need to know

Nigeria has won the last three FIBA Women's Afrobasket titles /FIBA image

BASKETBALL FIBA Women's Afrobasket draw and what you need to know

Ndyamuhaki J Emanzi 10:59 - 10.06.2023

The 12-nation tournament will be played at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, between July 28 and August 6.

The 2023 FIBA Women's Afrobasket draw was held Friday night in Maputo, Mozambique and revealed the groups for the first round.

The 12-nation tournament will be played at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, between July 28 and August 6.

Teams were divided into four groups of three each, with tournament hosts Rwanda drawn in Group A, alongside Angola and the representative from Zone 2/3.

As of Friday, June 9, ten countries had their places confirmed in the 12-nation showpiece.

The remaining two slots will be determined at a later date, one from Zone 2/3 and the other a wild card to join Group B.

Cameroon and Mozambique are the other teams that make up Group B.

The Uganda Gazelles were drawn in Group C and will face Mali and Senegal.

Defending champions Nigeria were pooled with Egypt and DR Congo in Group D.

Format

In the first phase of the competition, each team will take on the two opponents in their respective groups.

Uganda Gazelles forward Hope Akello in action against Egypt during the Zone V Qualifiers /Pulse Sports image

The winners of each group will then advance directly to the quarter-finals.

But the end of the Group Phase won't be the end of the road for the remaining eight teams.

The teams that finish second and third in their respective groups will cross with teams from opposing groups to fight for the remaining four quarter-final places.

Final phase

The winners of the quarter-finals will advance to the semi-finals, while the losers will play the Classification Round games for positions 5th to 8th.

Nigeria will head to Kigali as the three-time defending champions, having won in 2017, 2019 and 21.

The West African side will be favourites going into the tournament.

Mali were the runners-up two years ago, while Cameroon finished in third place.

The Uganda Gazelles will be making a return to the Afrobasket, having last been there in 2015.