Egypt on Sunday booked their ticket to the 2023 FIBA Women's AfroBasket finals after they beat Zone 5 qualifiers hosts Uganda 74-65 in the final at MTN Arena, Lugogo in Kampala.
They now join Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Cameroon and hosts Rwanda who already have tickets for the July showpiece to be held in Kigali.
It was Asrar Bakr who hit the game opener of the tough tie played before a packed hall.
Egypt, who had raced to a 14-9 margin, saw Uganda cut the lead to 20-19 before the end of the first quarter before Radwan Ahmed helped Egypt win 20-19 in the second quarter to go into half time leading the hosts 40-38.
Back in the second half, Egypt maintained their dominance on the court, winning the third quarter 19-15 and the fourth quarter 15-12 to take home the victory thanks to which they secured a ticket to the Afrobasket finals due from July 26 to August 6 in Kigali.
After Egypt recaptured the FIBA Africa Zone 5 crown, power forward Raneem Elgedawy, who has been in fine form during the qualifiers, was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Besides her MVP prize, the 25-year-old Alexandria native lifted the trophy for the best scorer of the competition thanks to her 98 points in five games.
The former Western Kentucky star averaged 19.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
In the do-or-die final against Uganda on Sunday, Elgedawy sparked Egypt with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 6 steals to help her country get away with 74-65 triumph.
Meanwhile, Rwanda concluded their FIBA Women’s Afrobasket Zone V Qualifiers campaign on a disappointing note as defeat against Uganda on Saturday extended their winless streak to four games after failing to register a single victory in the qualifiers.
Rwanda lost to South Sudan 40-54 in their opening game, on February 15 and went on to lose their second game against Kenya 58-69 the following day before Egypt put Sarr’s ladies on the sword with a 102-52 heavy victory on February 17
The final tournament of the Women’s Afrobasket is slated from July 26 to August 6 and Sarr has plenty of lessons to learn if his side is to challenge for the title.