It was a case of so near and yet so far for the South African Wheelchair Basketball national men’s and ladies’ teams at the recently concluded 2026 IWBF Africa Championships in Luanda, Angola.
The Sasol AmaWheelaBoys and AmaWheelaGirls stormed into their respective finals at the continental showpiece which saw them line up against North African nations in the form of Morocco and Algeria respectively in the hunt for continental honours but alas it was not to be.
The Sasol AmaWheelaBoys had played some of the most enterprising basketball all tournament long, garnering praise from fans and pundits alike but could not get out of first gear in the final. Despite their best efforts and various tactical switches, the South Africans proved to be no match for the clinical North Africans who completed a 59-42 victory to not only clinch gold but to also secure their place at this years IWBF World Championships in Canada.
Meanwhile in the ladies’ final played earlier, the South Africans started off brightly and matched their opponents for the majority of the first half and would have been very confident of victory going into the half time interval. However, the Algerians upped the tempo in the second half while the South Africans struggled with converting their opportunities. By the middle of the fourth quarter the mountain was just too high for the Sasol AmaWheelaGirls to climb, and they succumbed to a 45-30 loss.
Both teams missed out on automatic qualification for the 2026 IWBF World Championships in Ottawa, Canada in September but they have one more shot at qualification as they will take part in the IWBF Repecharge tournaments in Spain and Thailand respectively in June. The IWBF Repechage Tournaments are the final qualification stage for teams seeking a spot in major international wheelchair basketball competitions, such as the Paralympic Games and World Championships. These tournaments provide nations with one last chance to earn a place in these prestigious events, ensuring that the best teams from around the world are represented.
