KINSHASA (DR Congo) \u2013 FAP and Overdose Up Station proudly flew the Cameroonian flag high at the Gymnase Multisports de la Police nationale C in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), on Day 2 of the Women\u2019s Basketball League Africa (WBLA) 2025 Qualifiers.<\/p>\n
Facing local teams CNSS and ASB Makomeno respectively, the two Cameroonian teams both secured narrow victories, with final scores of 71\u201370 and 59\u201358 respectively.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how this thrilling day unfolded.<\/p>\n
Damaris Em\u00e9die saves FAP<\/p>\n
Having posted a double-double the previous day against AS Makomeno, Damaris Em\u00e9die delivered another powerful performance, leading FAP to victory over CNSS.<\/p>\n
Em\u00e9die scored 18 points, including a decisive basket with just 22 seconds remaining, and grabbed 21 rebounds, 16 of which were defensive. Her versatility proved crucial as FAP held on for a one-point win (71\u201370).<\/p>\n
The game began well for the Central Africans, who quickly took a 6\u20130 lead, then extended it to 8\u20132, thanks to Em\u00e9die, Chinelo Lucy Ibeh, and Nkem Akaraiwe.<\/p>\n
CNSS responded quickly and closed the gap to five points by the end of the first quarter (21\u201316), but could not get any closer. FAP took control again in the second quarter, outscoring their hosts 14\u20139 to lead by ten at halftime.<\/p>\n
After the break, the Congolese came out with renewed energy and began to put FAP under pressure. Inspired by Djelika Tounkara, who scored 10 points in the quarter, the hosts recorded their best period (25\u201322). However, they still trailed 57\u201350 going into the final frame.<\/p>\n
Then came a surge. Tounkara, Ketia Mbelu, Sarwan Berth\u00e9 and Gracia Nguz powered CNSS back into contention, eventually putting them ahead 65\u201362 with 4:04 remaining, and extending their lead to seven with just under three minutes left.<\/p>\n
But FAP refused to give up. Josiane Tientcheu hit a crucial three-pointer to keep them in the game, followed by Idubamo Beggi who trimmed the deficit to two.<\/p>\n
Tientcheu brought FAP within one, before Em\u00e9die sealed the deal with a layup with just 22 seconds left.<\/p>\n
With these back-to-back victories, the FAP Women are now well positioned to secure their place in the WBLA 2025 Finals in Cairo in December. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, CNSS still have a chance to qualify \u2014 provided they defeat ASB Makomeno in Tuesday’s all-Congolese showdown.<\/p>\n
Overdose Up Station bounce back<\/p>\n
Following their opening defeat at the hands of CNSS, Overdose Up Station bounced back strongly against ASB Makomeno. Their narrow 59\u201358 victory kept Roger Dassi\u2019s team in the running for a place in the WBLA Finals.<\/p>\n
It was a game that could have gone either way. The Cameroonians took early control, winning the first quarter 16\u20139. Makomeno rallied in the second quarter with a 17\u201311 run, trailing by just one point at halftime (27\u201326). From there, the teams traded blows \u2014 Overdose edging the third 12\u201311 before Makomeno replied with a 21\u201320 victory in the fourth.<\/p>\n
With 1:04 remaining, Makomeno were leading by two. That\u2019s when Sema Ekah, who finished with 16 points, four rebounds and five assists, calmly sank two free throws to make it 56\u201356. Abigael Mbombo Kongolo briefly put Makomeno ahead again, but Ekah responded with a clutch three-pointer to give Overdose Up Station the win.<\/p>\n
Alongside Ekah, Myriam Guiolobo also scored 16 points and had 4 rebounds.<\/p>\n
Makomeno had three players scoring in double figures: Rachel Ngona with 17 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists; Laura Ilunga Kabongo with 14 points and 8 rebounds; and Belinda Okoth with 12 points and 7 rebounds. However, this was not enough to secure victory.<\/p>\n
This loss drops ASB Makomeno to 0\u20132, significantly damaging their chances of reaching the WBLA Finals in Cairo.<\/p>\n
FIBA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KINSHASA (DR Congo) \u2013 FAP and Overdose Up Station proudly flew the Cameroonian flag high at the Gymnase…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":228331,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-228330","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228330\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/228331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}