Belgian Cats cruise to fourth straight win in World Cup qualifiers

The Belgian Cats continued their perfect run at the FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in Wuhan, China, with a comfortable 102-64 victory over South Sudan women’s national basketball team on Sunday.

Belgium were in control for most of the match. South Sudan kept things close early on, but the European champions pulled away in the second and third quarters, building a huge lead. By the end of the third quarter, the gap had grown to 47 points before the final score settled at 102-64.

Forward Maxuella Lisowa-Mbaka was the standout performer for Belgium, finishing with 16 points, eight rebounds and nine assists, narrowly missing a triple-double. Strong contributions also came from Emma Meesseman (15 points), Alicia Courthiau (14), Julie Allemand (12) and Antonia Delaere (11). The game was also a milestone for Allemand, who played her 100th international match.

Belgium were without Julie Vanloo, who was rested, while Billie Massey missed the match due to a quadriceps injury.

The Cats had already secured their place at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 thanks to their European title, but coach Mike Thibault is using the tournament to build match rhythm and give younger players opportunities.

Belgium have now won all four of their matches in Wuhan. Earlier victories came against Brazil women’s national basketball team (99-70), hosts China women’s national basketball team (80-65) and Mali women’s national basketball team (81-50).

Against Mali on Saturday, Belgium dominated from the start and eventually secured a comfortable 31-point win, with several players reaching double figures.

With four wins from four games, Belgium top the group with the maximum eight points. They will play their final qualifier against the Czech Republic women’s national basketball team on Tuesday morning.

^{Belgium's Maxuella Lisowa Mbaka ​ during a basketball game between Belgium's national team Belgian Cats and South Sudan, in Wuhan, China © BELGA PHOTO NIKOLA KRSTIC}