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Deghady recorded 17 points and six assists against Rwanda and is averaging 14.5 points, four rebounds and three assists in the competition.
Soraia Deghady is easily the most popular player at the ongoing Fiba Women’s AfroBasket Qualifiers in Kampala, Uganda.
Her flamboyant style of play is something that continues to the eye of everyone. She is a good facilitator on the floor and directs traffic for the Egypt team most of the time.
But her team will need more than just the flashy no-look passes when they take on Kenya Saturday afternoon at the Lugogo Indoor Stadium.
It is a game the Pharaoh cannot afford to lose and the point guard believes defence will see them over the line to keep their chances of booking a ticket to AfroBasket alive.
“We must focus on the defence,” Deghady said after Egypt’s 102-56 blowout win over Rwanda.
“We need to stop them from scoring if we are gonna win,” she added.
Deghady recorded 17 points and six assists against Rwanda and is averaging 14.5 points, four rebounds and three assists in the competition.
The victory over Rwanda saw Egypt become the first side to score a century in Kampala but that game was just academic and will have no bearing on the final standing.
Kenya also defeated South Sudan 80-51 for their third straight win of the qualifiers. George Mayienga’s troops had earlier beaten hosts Uganda and Rwanda but will face their toughest test against Egypt.
“We played against them in 2021 and they were very good, they won the tournament,” Deghady recalls.
“This is our final hope. We need to win this game. We must win to reach the final game.”
There will be mathematics to decide the top two teams should Egypt beat Kenya. That will see Uganda, Kenya and Egypt tied on two wins and one defeat and calculators will come out to decide the two teams to face off in Sunday’s decider.
“Good defence is what is gonna make us win. It is our last hope to reach the final game.”
Kenya defeated Egypt in the 2021 decider and will have another opportunity of inflicting pain on the North Africans. Victory for Kenya will set up a clash with rivals and hosts Uganda while relegating Egypt to third place playoff.
But Egypt is not a team to write off and Kenya will have that in mind.
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