Africa's got talent: Who are the players to watch in Group E?
ALEXANDRIA (Egypt) - There is a number players in Group E of the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers that you probably wouldn't want to miss out.
We have chosen five players, namely Cape Verde’s Jeff Xavier and Ivan Almeida, Uganda’s Robinson Opong and Egypt’s duo of Ehab Amin and Anas Mahmoud, and have asked Opong to share his thoughts on African basketball.
"ANYTIME A FOREIGN COACH COMES TO AFRICA THEY GET SURPRISED OF THE LEVEL OF PLAYERS."
From exhilarating guards, swingmen to centers, this four-nation event in Alexandria is loaded with brilliancy.
Xavier is a terrific shooting guard who hasn't featured for his country since the African Championship 2015, but with the islanders' chances to advance to FIBA AfroBasket 2021 on the line, he returned for good.
Jeff Xavier in action at FIBA AfroBasket 2015
And Xavier's numbers with the "Blue Sharks" jersey on, speak for themselves. Team leading scorer at the 2009 and 2015 editions of the AfroBasket, this 1.90m (6ft.3in) shooter can't be left unguarded for a second beyond the three-point line.
Speaking of lethal shooters, Opong is the one to lead the "Silverbacks" offense.
Having represented his country since the FIBA AfroBasket 2017, the 31-year-old Opong knows a lot about the ways to compete against Africa's elite.
"A lot of people don’t know but in Africa there is a lot of great basketball players… a lot of players that stay in their country that play in domestic leagues, but they have all the talents that you can find in Europe and America," Opong said to FIBA.basketball.
Love an energetic and athletic forward? Cape Verde's Almeida has it all.
Aggressive at both ends of the floor, Almeida's return since the Pre-Qualifiers in January, represents a major boost for Cape Verde.
Anas Mahmoud played college basketball for the Louisville University
Mahmoud and Amin have returned home after years of college basketball experience in the US. And along with seven-footer Omar Tarek and Aly Ahmed they represent the wave of "Americanised" Egyptian players.
"It’s very exciting to play at AfroBasket competitions," Opong explained.
"Anytime a foreign coach comes to Africa they get surprised of the level of players. They keep coming back. It’s a testimony of how basketball in Africa is growing and is getting more exciting. I am just glad that everybody is getting to see more and more now. I can go on and on, but there is a lot of great players in Africa."
Uganda will face hosts Egypt in their group opener, before taking on Morocco and Cape Verde.
"They are very capable teams and they are here for a reason, and we are for a reason too. My job is to prepare and I’ll let my coaches do the scouting and give us the tactical stand point that we need to take notes in order to win some games," Opong said.
Certainly by the end of the week, a few more stars will emerge from the FIBA Bubble in Alexandria, Egypt.
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