Women’s AfroBasket : Lionesses Struggles Continue

Cameroon’s women’s national basketball team, finished fifth at the just-ended AfroBasket championship in Abidjan. This result furthered their wait for their first trophy in the competition. Again, it continued their struggles to secure a podium finish outside of their home country. While improving one spot from their 2023 performance, the team’s fifth-place finish fell short of expectations from fans who hoped to see them break their long-standing away-from-home medal curse and why not get Gold.
The Lionesses secured their fifth-place standing with a decisive 60-40 victory over rivals Mozambique in the classification match. This win marks a slight improvement from their last outing but does little to quell the disappointment of another tournament without a medal. Cameroon's previous podium finishes, a silver in 2015 and a bronze in 2021 were both achieved on home soil, highlighting a stark contrast in the team's performance when playing away. The Lionesses' best result away from home remains a fourth-place finish in Maputo in 2013.
The 2025 campaign in Côte d’Ivoire that ran from July 12-3 August 2025, saw the Lionesses face a mix of intense competition and tough battles. After a hard-fought win against South Sudan, they suffered a heavy loss to continental powerhouse Mali. Though they advanced to the knockout round with a 1-1 record, the defeat pushed them on the second position in Group B, forcing them to play an established opponent like Nigeria in the quarterfinals. Their journey was ultimately cut short in the quarterfinals by Nigeria, that progressed to ...