The Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday night booked their ticket to the 2023 FIBA Women's AfroBasket finals due in Kigali from July 26 to August 6 at BK Arena.
The Congolese team earned the ticket after beating Gabon 101-53 to complete a two-game series sweep over the West African in Yaounde, Cameroon.
Marlene Ngobeleza led DR Congo with 26 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals with an efficiency rating of 38.
Forward Deborah Kaba Mayiwona and Ketia Mbelu recorded 15 points apiece while Feza Ebengo Isomi contributed 13 points to impose a dominant display against hapless Gabon.
A joyous Feza told FIBA.basketball that they are happy to have qualified for this year's Women's AfroBasket after missing out of the last edition.
"It's a great feeling that we qualify for the 2023 AfroBasket for Women to be staged in Kigali, Rwanda this year, we came with a set objective to qualify for the Afrobasket because we believe that is where we belong," she concluded.
Meanwhile, hosts of the Zone 4 qualifiers, Cameroon also made it to the finals by virtue of reaching the semi-finals of the 2021 Women's AfroBasket held in Yaounde.
In February, Egypt booked their ticket to the 2023 FIBA Women's AfroBasket finals after they beat Zone 5 qualifiers hosts Uganda 74-65.
They join Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Cameroon and hosts Rwanda who already have tickets for the July showpiece.