The Kenya Lionesses will miss this month's Women's AfroBasket in Kigali, Rwanda, after FIBA Africa awarded Guinea a wild card thus knocking the Kenyans out.
Over the weekend, Guinea went down 179-101 to Cote d’Ivoire in a two-game qualifier in Abidjan.
The two nations completed the 12-nation tournament where they are placed alongside Angola and hosts Rwanda in Group 'A'.
Kenya Basketball Federation assistant secretary Angela Luchivya, who attended the FIBA Africa Congress in Maputo, Mozambique confirmed that the Lionesses were out of the tournament following this development.
Luchivya said she did her best to put Kenya through but it eventually proved futile since FIBA Zone Five already had three teams in the championships including champions Egypt, runners-up Uganda and hosts Rwanda.
However, Luchivya said Fiba Africa will consider Kenya if any of the 12 teams withdraw.
Lionesses failed the test when they finished third during the zonal qualifiers in Kampala, Uganda in February.
The 12 teams are divided into four groups of three each.
Three-time defending champions Nigeria, Mali, Cameroon and Senegal qualified automatically after reaching the semifinals of the last show in Yaounde, Cameroon two years ago.
Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Angola complete the roster that will battle it out in Kigali.
The tournament will be staged at the iconic BK Arena from July 28 to August 6.
Besides crowning the 2023 African champions, the two finalists will qualify for FIBA Women's Olympic qualifying tournament set for February 2024.
Group 'A': Rwanda, Angola, Cote d’Ivoire
Group 'B': Cameroon, Guinea, Mozambique
Group 'C': Mali, Senegal, Uganda
Group 'D': Nigeria, Egypt, DR Congo
