Interclube and Primero de Agosto qualify for FIBA Africa Champions Cup

Angola's Interclube and 1 de Agosto senior women's teams have qualified for the FIBA Africa Women's Champions Clubs Cup following the absence of their opponents in the qualification phase. Scheduled to take place from November 14 to 20 in Luanda, the qualification phases were supposed to count on the presence of the countries integrating Zone VI, however, only the host teams confirmed their participation. Speaking to ANGOP, Tony Sofrimento, member of the Angolan Basketball Federation said competitors could have registered until 24 hours before the scheduled date for the beginning of the competition. The federation official said the reasons for the absence of the teams are still unknown; however, he said, they are waiting for the official report of the International Federation of the sport (FIBA). According to the regulations, Interclube (national champions) and 1 de Agosto (runner-up) go directly to the final phase of the Cup of Champion Clubs of the African continent. Besides Angola, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, Zambia and Zimbabwe are part of the Zone. Initially, the competition was set to take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, however alleged lack of financial resources led Angola to organize the event. According to the regulations, each country can participate with two teams. Ferroviario de Maputo (Mozambique) is the defending champion of the 2019 edition, having defeated Angola's Interclube by 91-90 in the final. Angola's Interclube are the most crowned African team with five trophies followed by Angola's 1 de Agosto and Senegal's DUC with three titles each. The competition was not held in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Courtesy of: angop.ao