Déjà Vu in Cairo as WBLA Last Year's Final Fixtures Are Repeated

Déjà Vu in Cairo as WBLA Last Year's Final Fixtures Are Repeated

APR Women and their fans must have felt that old, familiar sting on Saturday evening in Cairo, and for the second year running, their shot at the WBLA title fell through in the semifinals.

They threw everything at Al Ahly SC, battling hard in front of a home crowd. Still, it just wasn't enough with the final score of 85-74 telling the story of a game where Al Ahly's stars took over when it mattered, with their big players making big plays as they march on to another final, a stage they know all too well. At the same time, APR is left to wonder what they could have done differently.

From the opening tip-off, Al Ahly harnessed the roaring energy of their home crowd. It was the towering presence of Hager Amer that truly set the tone as she went on to deliver a monstrous performance, dominating the stat sheet with a game-high 25 points and a stunning 24 rebounds, pulling down 12 on each end of the court. She, however,  received formidable support from Raneem Elgedawy, who added a powerful double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds, forming an overwhelming interior duo.

Despite this force, APR also showed their trademark fighting spirit in the tie, with Senegalese power player Yacine Diop leading their charge with a valiant 23 points and eight rebounds, her efforts fueling a gritty fourth-quarter surge that saw APR win the period 28-19. However, the mountain built by Al Ahly's early dominance, a 20-point lead heading into the final quarter, proved too steep to climb.

The statistics reveal a clash of styles in the game, with APR's relentless hustle earning them advantages in transition, as they made 22 points from fast-break points, against Al Ahly's 12. They also edged the points bagged off turnovers, registering 15 while Al Ahly managed only nine points.

But Al Ahly's victory was forged in the paint, precisely where Amer and Elgedawy ruled as their interior dominance resulted in a staggering 58 to 16 advantage from points in the paint and an overwhelming 30 to 10 advantage in second-chance points.

Ultimately, Al Ahly's foundational strength held firm, booking their place in a second consecutive WBLA final with their narrowest victory of the tournament. This result sets the stage for a strong sense of déjà vu on the final day, with both the championship game and the bronze medal match exact rematches of the 2024 medal fixtures, making both fixtures compelling to watch.

From the opening tip-off, Al Ahly harnessed the roaring energy of their home crowd, building a decisive early advantage. They took the first quarter 30-19 and maintained their momentum in the second, winning it 20-15 to head into the halftime break with a formidable 16-point lead. At the start of the second half, a low-scoring third quarter was witnessed as both teams struggled with fouls and turnovers. However, the Egyptian side still managed to extend their lead, edging it 16-12 to head into the final period with a commanding 20-point cushion.

Facing a daunting deficit and knowing that only a monumental performance in the final quarter can swing the game their way, APR showed their trademark fighting spirit as they launched a ferocious full-court press, converting defensive pressure into offensive opportunities with the late surge allowing them to dominate the final quarter 28-19. Still, the mountain they had to climb had been built early on by Al Ahly's early and overwhelming control of the game, as the Rwandan champions are left to rue another continental campaign ending at the semifinal stage.

Ultimately, the Egyptian giants secured their place in a second straight WBLA final, doing so with their narrowest and perhaps hardest-earned victory of the tournament so far by their standards and the stage is now set for a compelling final day, with both the championship game and the bronze medal match serving as direct rematches from the 2024 tournament. For APR, the stats offer a blueprint of what might have been, while for Al Ahly, they confirm the formidable strengths they will carry into Sunday's title decider.

Al Ahly Sporting Club’s Hagar Amer who has gone on to record straight double-doubles in as many games in the championship and was the top performer in their semifinal win shared her thoughts with AfricaBasket after the game.

“We started very well and we prepared greatly for the game. The coach told us about them having very good players including Yassine Diop who used to play here before so we had no choice but to prepare very well for the game. We knew how to stop them and God helped us achieve it. We will take this one and get ready for the final. The switching was excellent for us because in the post, it was causing them a lot of issues and that was our exact game plan before the game.”

Ahead of the final game tomorrow against familiar oppositions and reigning champions, Ferroviario De Maputo, a team they lost to in the final last year in Dakar, she said she is anticipating a good game and that they will play with all they have got tomorrow to secure a different narrative from last year’s final.

“It's going to be, of course, a good game. We prepared for it very well but I'm very confident in my team and we will do everything we've got. We'll kill it out there tomorrow, we're going to run. We're going to do everything we can to bring it home. There were more fans today and it was almost packed out. Tomorrow, we're going to arrive at the stadium and we will be waiting for the fans.”