China forward, Sijing Huang, has been crowned the TISSOT MVP for Group B at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying tournaments played in Belgrade and led the All-Star five players which include Nigeria’s Victoria Macaulay.
Macaulay was at the heart of pulling off the biggest upset of the tournament in Belgrade as Nigeria beat France for the very first time. She paced a famous 67-65 triumph with a superb 19 points, 5 steals, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
Nigeria had a tournament to remember as they took down France for the first time in what was a historic and momentous matchup. That was the main reason for Victoria Macaulay getting the thumbs up, with the powerful frontcourt star coming out with an average of 9.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2,7 assists and 2.0 steals per game. She delivered a stellar performance in an historic win against France.
The Nigerian Centre who currently plays for Galatasaray in the Turkish Women’s Basketball League made it a tournament to remember for Nigeria as they took down France for the first time in what was a historic and momentous matchup.
Macaulay was called up and represented Nigeria at the 2019 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket where the team won gold defeating the host Senegal in Dakar. She averaged 6.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists during the tournament in Dakar.
She also participated in the 2020 FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in Belgrade where Nigeria punched her ticket to Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games which she was a part of and was a member of the gold winning team that a third consecutive FIBA AfroBasket in Cameroon 2021.
Other players that made the All-Star Five are teammate Yueri Li of China who set the tone early with some big displays and was a constant menace under the basket. The young center amassed 16.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
French ace Marine Johannes will be a factor for sure in Sydney and she gets a place in the All-Star Five having led her team in scoring with 15 points per game. She also handed out 3 assists per game.
Finally, it has been a bittersweet experience for Mali young gun Sika Kone, since her team just missed out on a historic maiden ticket for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.
By JOE APU
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