February 9, 2020

Foshan:

China completed a perfect weekend in Belgrade in Sunday’s first game after Li Meng led them in a 100-60 win over South Korea.  That left qualification to be decided by the last game and Temi Fagbenle and Great Britain knew that they needed a win, but Spain took care of business 79-69 to send themselves and South Korea through.

South Korea vs. China 60-100 KOR Kang A-J 17 Bae 9 Roberson 7/10r Kim D-B 7 Kim M-J 6 Sim 5 Park H-J 2 Go 2 Kang L-S 2 Ku 2 Park J-S 1 Kim J-E 0 CHN Li M 20 Han 16/8r Huang 15/6r Yang 9/6a Wang 9 Li YR 7 Wu 6 Li Y 6 Gao 6 Zhang 4 Shao 2 Sun 0

Great Britain vs. Spain 69-79 GBR Fagbenle 21/6r Leedham 15/12r/6a Handy 14 Samuelson 13 Vanderwal 3 Jones 2 Green 1 Fong Lyew Quee 0 Monakana 0 Charles DNP Shaw DNP Anigwe DNP ESP Conde 15 Gil 11/7r Nicholls 11 Xargay 10 Dominguez 9 Torrens 9 Ouvina 8 Palau 2/8a Casas 2 Rodriguez 2 Abalde 0 Lo 0

Standings: China 3-0, Spain 2-1, South Korea 1-2, Great Britain 0-3

Belgrade:

Serbia did not start well, but the hosts officially secured the last place with a 76-48 win over Anabela Cossa and Mozambique.  The last game had no impact, but the United States got absolutely everything they could handle from Nigeria before escaping with a 76-71 win after a strong second half.

Serbia vs. Mozambique 76-48 SRB Dabovic 12/6a Vasic 11 Krajisnik 10 Stankovic 8 Jovanovic 8 Brooks 7/9r Miljkovic 6/6a Butulija 4 Cado 4 Milic 4 Skoric 2 Bojovic 0 MOZ Cossa 21 Seda 10/10r Dongue 4 Gimo 4 Pereira 3 Zita 2 Mafanela 2 Mucauro 2 Mabjaia 0 Lhavanguane 0 Chiziane 0 Mutombene DNP

Nigeria vs. United States 71-76 NGR Kalu 17/8a Macaulay 12/6r Akhator 10 Elonu 9 Nyingifa 8/7r Balogun 6 Balarabe 4/9r Amukamara 2 Edeferioka 2 Imovbioh 1 Ibekwe 0 Ogoke 0 USA Griner 18 Gray 12/7a Ogwumike 11 Samuelson 10 Fowles 9 Wilson 6/8r Diggins 5 Atkins 3 Loyd 2 Bird 0/6a Mitchell 0 Stewart DNP

Standings: United States 3-0, Serbia 2-1, Nigeria 1-2, Mozambique 0-3

Bourges:

Brazil was playing to keep their Olympic hopes alive and Damiris Dantas and Taina Paixao kept them in the picture.  Liz Cambage and Australia did not want to leave their fate to be decided by the other game and pulled away in the fourth quarter to win 86-72.  That left no implications for the second game, but Sandrine Gruda and France did entertain the home fans in an 89-51 win over Puerto Rico.

Brazil vs. Australia 72-86 BRA Dantas 21/6r Paixao 20 De Souza 17/9r Costa 7/6r/10a Teixeira 3 Dias 2 Ramona 2 Pacheco 0 Monteiro 0 Goncalo 0 Da Silva DNP Oliveira DNP AUS Cambage 29/7r Mitchell 19 Allen 16 Talbot 7 Magbegor 6/7r Ebzery 5 Blicavs 2 Tolo 2 George 0 Nicholson 0 Smith DNP Lavey DNP

France vs. Puerto Rico 89-51 FRA Gruda 20/10r Miyem 17 Johannes 16 Ciak 6 Michel 6/7a Hartley 6 Chartereau 5 Vukosavljevic 4 Epoupa 3 Fauthoux 2 Tchatchouang 2 Rupert 2 PUR Quinones 17 Gibson 10 Gwathmey 6 O’Neill 6 Melendez 4 Rosado 4 Canales 3 Jones 1 Roma 0 Kuzmanic 0 Crespo 0 Salaman DNP

Standings: France 3-0, Australia 2-1, Puerto Rico 1-2, Brazil 0-3

Oostende:

Sweden knew that they had an uphill battle against the home crowd in their bid to qualify, but weathered it well in the first half.  Emma Meesseman and the hosts seized the lead coming out of halftime and held on to a 61-53.  That left the other game having no impact, but Canada completed a perfect weekend with a 70-68 win over Saki Hayashi and Japan.

Sweden vs. Belgium 53-61 SWE F. Eldebrink 14 Zahui B 9/6r E. Eldebrink 9 Loyd 7 Magarity 5/12r Drammeh 5 Halvarsson 4 Nystrom 0 Hersler 0 Abdi DNP Fontaine DNP Lundquist DNP BEL Meesseman 24 Linskens 11 Allemand 10 K. Mestdagh 9 Delaere 7 Raman 0 H. Mestdagh 0 Carpreaux 0 Wauters 0 Nauwelaers 0 Resimont DNP Massey DNP

Canada vs. Japan 70-68 CAN Nurse 19 Achonwa 18/8r Raincock-Ekunwe 8 Ayim 6 Carleton 6 Langlois 4 Gaucher 3 Alexander 2 Pellington 2 Scott 2 Amihere 0 Hill 0 JPN Hayashi 21 Motohashi 10 Akaho 8/9r Machida 8 Yoshida 8 Osaki 7 Tokashiki 4/9r Nagaoka 2 Mawuli 0 Motokawa 0 Takada DNP Miyashita DNP

Standings: Canada 3-0, Belgium 2-1, Japan 1-2, Sweden 0-3

February 8, 2020

Foshan:

The rescheduled games started Saturday in Belgrade with the first team to join the automatic qualifiers being decided.  China built a big lead going into halftime and then managed to withstand a late rally to clinch with a 64-62 win.  South Korea faced elimination in their game and as a result, rode their starters as much as they could.  Great Britain countered with their stars Temi Fagbenle and Johannah Leedham, but their comeback attempt also fell short as Kang Lee-Seul caught fire from distance.  On Sunday, South Korea can clinch with a win while if they lose they will qualify with a Spain win.  South Korea has a strong disadvantage in any tiebreaker so Great Britain should be safe with a win in any case.

Spain vs. China 62-64 ESP Torrens 17 Nicholls 12/12r Ouvina 8 Xargay 6 Lo 6 Dominguez 5 Conde 5 Gil 3 Palau 0/8a Rodriguez 0 Abalde DNP Casas DNP CHN Li YR 13/15r Li M 13 Shao 9/7r Yang 9 Han 8/6r Sun 6 Huang 2/7r Li Y 2 Wang 2 Gao 0 Wu DNP Zhang DNP

Great Britain vs. South Korea 79-82 GBR Fagbenle 28/6r Leedham 21/6r/10a Samuelson 14/9r Green 10/6r Anigwe 3 Handy 3 Vanderwal 0 Monakana 0 Jones 0 Charles DNP Fong Lyew Quee DNP Shaw DNP KOR Kang L-S 26 Park H-J 17/6a Kim D-B 16/6r/6a Park J-S 15/9r/6b Bae 8 Roberson 0 Go DNP Kang A-J DNP Kim M-J DNP Sim DNP Kim J-E DNP Ku DNP

Belgrade:

The hosts got on the board in the next game as Sonja Vasic led them past Ezinne Kalu and Nigeria 70-64.  Nneka Ogumumike led the way for the United States in their 124-49 win over Mozambique, leaving their opponents needing a miracle against Serbia to stay alive.  That leaves the second game tomorrow not having much meaning although Nigeria will likely field this squad in the summer as well and will want the chance to test themselves.

Serbia vs. Nigeria 70-64 SRB Vasic 21/7r Brooks 17 Dabovic 11 Krajisnik 9/6r Milic 4 Jovanovic 3/7r Cado 3 Bojovic 2 Miljkovic 0 Stankovic 0 Skoric 0 Butulija DNP NGR Kalu 20 Amukamara 15 Elonu 9/6r Macaulay 9 Nyingifa 7 Ibekwe 4 Akhator 0 Balarabe 0 Ogoke 0 Balogun 0 Imovbioh 0 Edeferioka 0

Mozambique vs. United States 49-124 MOZ Dongue 10/9r Mafanela 9 Cossa 9 Gimo 8 Zita 4 Mucauro 3 Pereira 3 Chiziane 2 Lhavanguane 1 Mabjaia 0 Seda 0 Mutombene 0 USA Ogwumike 24/9r Wilson 16/7r Griner 14/9r Loyd 11/7r Stewart 11 Samuelson 10 Mitchell 9 Gray 9/12a Fowles 8 Atkins 8 Diggins 4/6a Bird DNP

Bourges:

Australia got their first win 100-74 over Jazmon Gwathmey and Puerto Rico behind Liz Cambage.  Sandrine Gruda and France controlled most of the game to qualify with an 89-72 win over Brazil.  Brazil now needs a win in the first game on Sunday to stay alive.  Puerto Rico will then know if they need to beat France or if they already advanced.

Australia vs. Puerto Rico 100-74 AUS Cambage 31/6r Magbegor 15 Allen 12/6r George 11/8r Tolo 9 Mitchell 9/7a Ebzery 8 Blicavs 4/6r Talbot 1 Nicholson 0 Lavey 0 Smith DNP PUR Gwathmey 30 O’Neill 14 Rosado 12 Gibson 7 Salaman 5 Jones 4 Quinones 2 Roma 0 Melendez 0 Kuzmanic 0 Crespo 0 Canales 0

Brazil vs. France 72-89 BRA Pacheco 15 Dias 8 De Souza 8 Dantas 7 Teixeira 6 Ramona 6 Paixao 6 Goncalo 6 Costa 5 Monteiro 3 Da Silva 2 Oliveira 0 FRA Gruda 26/8r Johannes 17 Ciak 10 Miyem 9 Epoupa 8 Chartereau 6 Hartley 4 Tchatchouang 4 Vukosavljevic 4 Michel 1 Rupert 0 Fauthoux 0

Oostende:

It was a slow start for Belgium again, but this time their rally behind Emma Meesseman got them a 92-84 win over Saki Hayashi and Japan.  Canada broke the game open in the second half against Sweden to qualify with an 80-50 win.  Sweden now needs a big win over Belgium in the first game tomorrow to keep control of qualification and not have to rely on Japan beating Canada.

Belgium vs. Japan 92-84 BEL Meesseman 23/7r Raman 16/6r Allemand 16/7a Linskens 14 K. Mestdagh 10 H. Mestdagh 8 Delaere 5/6a Carpreaux 0 Wauters 0 Nauwelaers 0 Resimont DNP Massey DNP JPN Hayashi 24 Nagaoka 13 Tokashiki 11 Motokawa 9 Motohashi 8/6a Akaho 8 Osaki 7 Mawuli 2 Machida 2/6a Yoshida 0/7a Miyashita 0 Takada DNP

Sweden vs. Canada 50-80 SWE F. Eldebrink 14 Loyd 12 E. Eldebrink 11 Drammeh 7 Zahui B 4 Halvarsson 2/6r Magarity 0 Hersler 0 Nystrom 0 Abdi 0 Fontaine 0 Lundquist DNP CAN Achonwa 16/8r Pellington 11 Ayim 10 Nurse 10 Carleton 8 Amihere 8 Alexander 6 Scott 4 Raincock-Ekunwe 3 Gaucher 2 Hill 2 Langlois 0

February 6, 2020

Foshan:

All of the qualifying tournament began on Thursday with health concerns causing the Foshan tournament to be moved to Belgrade.  China lost their homecourt advantage, but used a strong second half to beat Temi Fagbenle and Great Britain 86-76.  South Korea managed to hang with presumed group favorites Spain for a quarter before losing 83-46 as they knew that their performances this weekend would have the biggest effect on qualification.

China vs. Great Britain 86-76 CHN Han 16 Li M 16 Shao 16 Wang 14 Li Y 13 Yang 4 Huang 3 Li YR 2 Sun 2 Gao 0 Wu DNP Zhang DNP GBR Fagbenle 26 Leedham 19/6a Handy 11 Green 7 Monakana 5 Samuelson 4 Vanderwal 2 Shaw 2 Jones 0 Fong Lyew Quee 0 Charles DNP Anigwe DNP

South Korea vs. Spain 46-83 KOR Park H-J 17 Park J-S 10 Kang A-J 7 Bae 4 Roberson 3/6r Kang L-S 3 Sim 2 Go 0 Kim D-B 0 Ku 0 Kim M-J 0 Kim J-S DNP ESP Rodriguez 14 Palau 10 Xargay 9 Torrens 9 Gil 9 Dominguez 7/6a Conde 6 Casas 6 Nicholls 4/6r Lo 4 Ouvina 3/7r Abalde 2

Belgrade:

After the moved game, the regularly scheduled games were played in Belgrade.  Both teams in the first game knew that this one was critical and Mozambique played well early in their quest to be Africa’s representative, but Nigeria controlled the rest of the game to win 85-51.  The United States and hosts Serbia did not have much to play for in their game, but both got the chance to test themselves out against tough opposition and the Americans won 88-69.

Nigeria vs. Mozambique 85-51 NGR Amukamara 14 Kalu 11 Elonu 10 Akhator 9/7r Balogun 9 Balarabe 9 Nyingifa 5 Imovbioh 5 Macaulay 4 Ogoke 4 Ibekwe 3 Edeferioka 2 MOZ Dongue 16 Zita 9 Cossa 6 Pereira 6 Seda 4 Mafanela 3 Lhavanguane 3 Mucauro 2 Gimo 2 Mabjaia 0 Mutombene 0 Chiziane 0

United States vs. Serbia 88-69 USA Wilson 16/7r Diggins 15 Griner 14/6r Fowles 10/6r Stewart 9 Gray 8 Atkins 8 Ogwumike 6 Mitchell 2 Bird 0/8a Loyd 0/8a Samuelson 0 SRB Dabovic 13 Brooks 13 Cado 12 Krajisnik 11 Skoric 7 Milic 4 Miljkovic 4 Stankovic 3 Vasic 2/6r Bojovic 0/6a Jovanovic 0 Butulija 0

Bourges:

Both teams playing in the opener in Bourges knew that they would be heavy underdogs in their remaining games and played like it.  Damiris Dantas and Brazil led for most of the game, but Jennifer O’Neill and Ali Gibson helped Puerto Rico stay close, fighting back late as both teams missed chances to win in regulation.  Puerto Rico started overtime well, but then had to hang on to prevail 91-89.  Australia and hosts France were both looking to get an early win to take care of qualification as soon as possible.  Rebecca Allen had a good game for the visitors alongside Liz Cambage, but France was in control for most of the game in a 72-63 win.

Puerto Rico vs. Brazil 91-89(OT) PUR O’Neill 30/6r Gibson 20/7r Gwathmey 15/8r Rosado 10 Quinones 9 Salaman 5 Melendez 2 Jones 0 Kuzmanic 0 Crespo 0 Roma DNP Canales DNP BRA Dantas 26/15r Texeira 19 De Souza 15/8r Costa 10/9a Paixao 10/6a Ramona 4 Dias 4 Goncalo 1 Monteiro 0 Pacheco 0 Oliveira 0 Da Silva 0

France vs. Australia 72-63 FRA Gruda 16/11r Hartley 13/7r/8a Johannes 12 Miyem 8 Epoupa 7 Vukosavljevic 6 Tchatchouang 3 Michel 3 Chartereau 2/7r Ciak 2 Fauthoux 0 Rupert 0 AUS Allen 20 Cambage 19/20r Ebzery 8 George 6 Mitchell 6 Talbot 2 Tolo 2 Magbegor 0 Blicavs 0 Nicholson 0 Smith DNP Lavey DNP

Oostende:

Japan has already qualified as hosts, but their opportunity to prepare with these games will give them the chance to play spoiler in Oostende.  That started with Ramu Tokashiki leading them past Sweden 75-54.  Belgium came out flat in front of their home fans and could not fully recover in a 61-56 loss to Canada to end the first day.

Japan vs. Sweden 75-54 JPN Tokashiki 21/12r Motohashi 18/6a Motokawa 16 Mawuli 7 Nagaoka 5/7r Machida 5 Akaho 3 Yoshida 0 Osaki 0 Miyashita 0 Hayashi 0 Takada DNP SWE Loyd 18 Zahui B 12/8r Drammeh 9/6r F. Eldebrink 5 Halvarsson 4 E. Eldebrink 4 Magarity 2/8r Fontaine 0 Lundquist 0 Nystrom 0 Abdi 0 Hersler DNP

Canada vs. Belgium 61-56 CAN Nurse 19 Alexander 12 Raincock-Ekunwe 7/6r Pellington 7 Achonwa 6 Langlois 3 Gaucher 3 Carleton 2/6r Ayim 2 Scott 0 Hill 0 Amihere DNP BEL Meesseman 14/6r K. Mestdagh 12/7r H. Mestdagh 9 Delaere 8 Raman 7 Allemand 4 Linskens 2/6r Wauters 0 Carpreaux 0 Resimont DNP Nauwelaers DNP Massey DNP