Africa-Press – Angola. The national senior men’s basketball team ended this Friday, in Benguela, the preparation stage for the fifth and final qualifying window (African zone) for the FIBA 2023 World Cup.
The tournament will be played from the 24th to the 26th of February, at the Kilamba Multipurpose Pavilion, in Luanda, where the team will travel this Saturday, the 18th, to continue their work.
From the initial list of 22 players, twelve were chosen: Teotónio Dó, Gerson Domingos, Gerson Gonçalves “Lukeny”, Childe Dundão, Aldmiro João, Keneth Manuel, Milton Valente, Walter Luzolo, Kevin Albino, Geovani Kabinga, Francisco Gomes and Manuel Sebastião.
These should be joined by eight athletes who operate outside the country, it is expected, however, that the final list of those elected for the said competition will be reduced to twelve basketball players.
As a preview of the tournament, the national coach, Josep Clarós, reiterates the goal of winning the first game against the Côte d ́Ivoire counterpart, on the 24th (Friday), and only then thinking about the other challenges.
“We have been working hard to win all three games at home. The first is the most important and then we will think about the second and so on”, said the Spanish coach.
He highlighted the dedication of the players during the internship, which took place in the Acácias Rubras pavilion, which allowed assimilating the tested game systems.
He said he had worked with some new players who have projection, although they are not ready yet, but who in the future may be part of the selection for the African Cup.
He highlighted names like Agostinho Mayele (Jesus Christ Basketball), Manuel Bumbi (CFDK) and Benção Vungo (NBA-Africa Academy) who, for him, have projection and open doors for future commitments in the national team.
Angola, which ranks second in Group E, with 12 points, only depends on itself to qualify. Already qualified is Côte d ́Ivoire, with 14 points, in the first position.
Cape Verde and Nigeria, with eleven and ten points, occupy the third and fourth places, respectively, while Uganda and Guinea, with eight points each, are at the bottom of the league table.
The Asia World Cup will take place in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines from August 25th to September 10th this year.
For More News And Analysis About Angola Follow Africa-Press
