The list of debutants, according to Angop, is composed by the names of Joana António, Sara Caetano, Jéssica Malagi, Isabel Fernando, Isabel João, Cácia Nzomba, Arminda Joaquim and Nelma Cunha. These athletes are joined by four others with experience: Edvânia Pascoal, Nadir Manuel, Artemis Afonso and Cristina Matiquite.
Among the debuts in an African competition is also the coach, the Spaniard José Freixa, whose hiring took place this year by the Angolan Basketball Federation.
According to Angop, among the dozen national athletes, only Nadir Manuel participated in the two victories with Aníbal Moreira (Bamako 2011 and Maputo 2013), along with Cristina Matiquite who was in the 2011 competition.
Compared to the previous edition - which took place in Cameroon in 2021 and where the country ranked eighth - the national team has a group of athletes six years younger, whose average is 24 years old, and two centimeters taller, writes Angop.
In the championship, the country is part of group A, which is completed by the selections of Côte d'Ivoire and Rwanda. Angola has its opening game on Saturday (July 29th), where it will face its counterpart from Ivory Coast.
On Sunday, the national team will be back on stage against the hosts, Rwanda.
According to a note from the Angolan Basketball Federation, to which VerAngola had access, on Wednesday, Angola beat Uganda in a game to prepare for the competition. "About to go into action at the African Championship, the National Senior Women's Team played a training game today and significantly won against the Uganda team", reads the federation's note, which states that the team won by 83-64.
Afrobasket Rwanda 2023 has a total of 12 teams, divided into four groups of three teams each.
"In addition to crowning the 2023 African champions, the two finalist teams qualify for the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualification Tournament (WOQT), which will take place in February 2024", the federation also informs.
