In the final group stage encounter, defending champions Ferroviario Maputo came back from trailing to defeat Kenya Port Authorities 91-76 and maintain their perfect record in the playoffs. Captain Ingvild Mucauro led her team with 17 points and nine rebounds.
Last Updated on
December 9, 2025
KPA's Sara Dickey who opened the game's account follwoing a well worked half court action that ended with a three-pointer. Fortunately for KPA, it took Maputo two minutes to record their field goal, this was a testament to the suffocating defence KPA was playing. Alexus Johnson then nailed two free throws to extend KPA's lead, but there was still very little separating these two teams. There were a few lead changes, and halfway through the first quarter, Destiny Pitts scored a three-pointer for Maputo to tie the score.
Stefania Chiziane then completed a three-point play for Maputo. However, that was short-lived as Sara Dickey lined up another three-ball for yet another lead change. However, she was not done, as she scored four more fast-break points to give KPA a six-point lead. Despite this, Stefania Chiziane could not be stopped, erupting for 10 first-quarter points. What was most impressive in this quarter was the 12-0 run Maputo made to close off the quarter and take a 25-19 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Maputo started the second quarter with three quick points. In an effort to not let the game get too far away from them. However, KPA's Natalie Mwangale returned fire with three-pointer to erase Maputo's lead. Silvia Veloso scored a layup for Maputo but Natalie Mwangale was not done as she drained another three-pointer to cut the deficit down to five points. Captain fantastic, Ingvild Mucauro then drained a three-pointer to restore Maputo's lead back to eight points. A short dry spell then followed where Mercy Wanyama scored three free throws for KPA to keep them within reach of Maputo.
Anabela Cossa then scored a three-pointer for Maputo to give them a bit of life. However, Aminata Samassekou proved a tough matchup for Maputo as she took two trips to the line, converting four free throws for KPA. But Anabela Cossa had another trick up her sleeve as she drained another three-pointer for Maputo before Hala Elshaarawy added two free throws to take Maputo's lead back up to ten points.
Both teams became a little overzealous as they continued to send the other to the line. Consequently, Maputo went up by 12 points (the biggest lead of the game at that point), but Alexus Johnson's and-one brought the lead back to single digits. Odélia Mafanela then went on a solo 4-0 run to give Maputo a 13-point lead, but this quarter was far from done. Aminata Samassekou then scored a three-pointer for KPA to make it a ten-point game. However, Makira Cook scored a floater for Maputo to close the quarter at 52-40 in favour of Maputo.
KPA came aggressively in the third quarter, drawing several fouls from Maputo. First, Alexus Johnson completed a three-point play, then Sara Dickey had a perfect trip to the line. KPA was not done as Alexus Johnson scored an additional four points to make it a single-possession game. Stefania Chiziane then scored a floater for Maputo to stop the bleeding. Still, Alexus Johnson was not done as she drained another three-pointer, making it a two-point game.
Makira Cook knocked down a jump shot for Maputo, but it seemed that they had very little in the tank as KPA went on a 4-0 run to tie the game at 58 points apiece, and all four points came from the free throw line.
KPA capitalised on Maputo's foul trouble. Hala Elshaarawy then scored a layup to restore Maputo's lead, but Alexus Johnson's mid-range shot erased that lead. Makira Cook then converted two free throws to take another two-point lead. Again, Alexus Johnson was the be-all and end-all of KPA in this quarter as she scored another three-pointer to give KPA a one-point lead before Sara Dickey closed the quarter off with a turnaround jump shot to provide KPA with a 65-62 lead at the end of the quarter.
Maputo playcaller Nasir Salé appealed to his team's resilient identity and never-die attitude to mount a comeback and claim this victory. After an underwhelming third quarter from the defending champions, they started the quarter with a 5-0 run and regained a two-point lead.
Babra Achieng made a jump shot to tie the game and then exchanged points with Makira Cook to keep the game levelled. Destiny Pitts and Ingvild Mucauro then scored four points for Maputo to restore a narrow lead.
The game's intensity peaked when Silvia Veloso drained a three-pointer for Maputo, giving them a six-point lead. However, Sara Dickey, who had been quiet, rose to the occasion with a crucial three-pointer to keep it at a one-possession game with a little over three and a half minutes to go. Eventually, the fouls caught up with KPA as they sent Odélia Maffanela and Ingvild Mucauro to the free-throw line as they went up by six. Sara Dickey continued with a valiant effort and scored a layup to cut it back down to four points.
The championship pedigree and experience then kicked in for Maputo. They closed the game off with an 11-0 run. A run that was prompted by Destiny Pitts' three-pointer. It then led to Odélia Mafanele scoring a beautiful reverse layup, prompting a KPA timeout.
However, it was too little too late to slow down the defending champions as they returned to make three more free throws, one by Odélia Mafanele and two by Ingvild Mucauro. The dagger was Silvia Veloso's three-pointer with 30 seconds left, which put Maputo up by 15. That is how the game ended with Maputo completing the comeback and claiming a 91-76 victory.
KPA's Alexus Johnson led all scorers with 24 points and 12 rebounds. She left it all on the court even after taking a massive blow to the face, a testimony of her character. She had the following to say after the game:
It was a hard game. I'm not going to say I wasn't expecting that because they [Ferroviario Maputo] are the defending champs, but I'm proud of my team and they way that we fought but we could have fought a little harder in the end. We could have been a little more poised but when you're in a situation like that, it's easy to say what you could have done.
Meanwhile, on the Maputo side, Makira Cook (8/8 on the free throw line) had the following to say about her team's hard-fought victory:
I think they [KPA] are a very good team and when you go into it, you have to be ready. They have several weapons but we knew that we have many weapons as well. We knew we had to be strong, be on our A game and we did just that.
She was asked about the last few minutes of the fourth quarter and how they locked in defensively, specifically about the defensive conversations amongst the team, she said the following:
When we're getting stops, it leads to our offense and that gave us momentum on defense. So our conversation was to keep the juice and get stops and we did just that.
They will now focus on the knockout stage while KPA's fate hangs in the balance as they wait for the group stage games to come to an end.
[Photography Courtesy of FIBA]
