The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics became a little closer for Senegal, Cameroon, Angola and Nigeria who will do battle at AfroBasket Women 2015 Semi-Finals on Friday in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Only the winner of the tournament secures direct qualification for the Rio Games while the teams that finish second and third will take part in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women next summer.
With the exception of Nigeria, the other three semi-finalists reached the last four at AfroBasket Women 2013.
Here is a look at the two Semi-Finals (all local times; GMT +1)
Cameroon (6-0) v Nigeria (5-1) (19:00)
Unlike the other semifinal, Cameroon and Nigeria haven’t faced each other early in the competition, but they have a historic game.
And, the last time the two faced each other in FIBA competition Cameroon defeated Nigeria in the preliminary round at AfroBasket Women 2013.
However, Nigeria held a 4-1 head-to-head advantage dating back to 2007.
Cameroon reached the Semi-Final undefeated in six games, but facing Nigeria will be Alain Zedong’s team real test in the competition.
From the statistic point of view, Nigeria average tournament highs 78.8 points per game, rebound better than any other team with 51.5 boards per game, and share the ball like no other with 19.2 assists per game. If the statistics are to go by, then Nigeria are favourites, especially as they have already experienced a defeat earlier in the competition, but playing Cameroon in front of a probable sellout crowd seems a challenge for the Scott Nnaji’s team.
“Facing Cameroon at home gives them a lot of confidence,” Nnaji told FIBA.com, “We have to make sure we get things done correctly.
Nnaji continued: “We played them in Brazzaville, but they didn’t have a few players. But we know what to do with them because they are physical.
“We have to stop them from attacking the basket."
Victory for Nigeria's women basketballers sends them into Afrobasket semis - #BBCAfricaLive https://t.co/Virv3vMbOR pic.twitter.com/72jZphNlgd
— BBC Africa (@BBCAfrica) October 1, 2015
A couple of years ago, Cameroon made it to the semis, but they fell short to host Mozambique.
So, failing at home is not in Zedong's plans.
“We lost to Nigeria in Brazzaville [at All Africa Games] last month because we made many mistakes,” Zedong said.
Afrobasket Women 2015: Le #Cameroun plus fort que l'Egypte se qualifie pour la… http://t.co/6fCFgJPj3r #Team237 pic.twitter.com/zXVSaRahp6
— Cameroun (@237online) October 1, 2015 "Now, we have scouted games of Nigeria and we have identified their straights and weaknesses.
“I think my team is ready to step on floor on Friday and beat Nigeria to play the final in front of our fans.”
Cameroon’s ace Nicole Jamen followed Zedong's speech, but she insists they will need to work a lot harder.
We are going need to rely on our defense – Jamen
“Defense is what wins championships. I feel defense is the strength of our team.
"A lot of us score points on fast break, so, we really need to go back to the basics and really focus on our defense.”
Lining up a roster that includes Adaora Elonu, Ndidi Madu and Joyce Ekworomadu, Nigeria hold a privileged position of reaching the final for the second time since 2005 when the last won the championship in their own country.
However, Cameroon who have never reached the final before, count with Ramses Lonlack, one of the top performers in the tournament, and more importantly they have a tireless rowdy crowd.
It remains to be seen whether or not Cameroon can avoid the pressure and take control of the contest early on.
Senegal (4-2) v Angola (5-1) (21:15)
These two two teams have already tasted defeat in the Group Phase, but moving forward in the competition there is no room for mistakes. Although Angola have won three of their last four meetings in FIBA competition dating back to 2011, Senegal emerge at the AfroBasket Women 2015 slightly stronger than the reigning champions.
Senegal have a better field-goal shooting (38 percent), share the ball better (17 assist per game), but will need to take care of the ball better, especially as Angola’s suffocating defense tend to disrupt whoever opponent comes their way.
Angola, who is aiming at reaching the tournament final for the third time in a row, did beat Senegal in the Group Phase, but circumstances are totally different.
Angola's Ngiendula Filipe told FIBA.com: “Senegal is a tough team to play against. We won in the Group Phase, but that is past now, it does not matter. We are going to need to be really focused to move on."
Senegal advanced to the last four after overwhelming a very physical Mali team on Thursday.
Physically Senegal are stronger, but this series is likely to be decide in small details.
Whoever looks after the ball better could end up winning.
It’s going to be a dog fight.
