RABAT (Morocco) - Three years ago, Morocco took African basketball by a storm after beating two continental heavyweights en route to their best FIBA AfroBasket result in three decades.

It all started in Dakar where they closed their Group Phase campaign with a remarkable 3-0 mark thanks to wins over 11-time African champions Angola, two-time African champions Central African Republic and Uganda before knocking down two-time continental winners Egypt in the Quarter-Finals in Tunis. 

Many were left thinking whether that would be Morocco's turn to lift their first continental trophy since 1965. 

However, co-hosts Tunisia weren't impressed as they ended Morocco's dream in the Semi-Final. 

Morocco eventually finished fourth.

"WE HAVE GROWN A LOT AS A TEAM IN RECENT YEARS, AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO COMPETE AGAINST THE BEST TEAMS IN AFRICA IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO MEASURE OUR POTENTIAL."- Abdelali Larichi

Later this month, Morocco will attempt to return to FIBA Africa's premier competition as they take on Cape Verde, Egypt and Uganda in the First Round of Group E of the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers in the Egyptian costal city of Alexandria. 

But how can Morocco survive a Qualifiers campaign without the likes Abdelhakim Zouita, Abderrahim Najah, Zakaria El Mashbahi, Adil El Makssoud and former head coach Said El Bouzidi?

Can they replicate their successful African Championship run from three years ago?

And more importantly, can they even secure one of Group E's three tickets available for the Final Round next year in Rwanda? 

There are many unanswered questions, but Abdelali Larichi, one of the few members from the 2017 Morocco squad, remains upbeat about their chances. 

"This is a new team with a new coach but if some of the guys were selected it is because they have sufficient quality to represent our country," Larichi said to FIBA.basketball a few days before joining Morocco's training camp last week. 

"We have grown a lot as a team in recent years, and we want to continue to compete against the best teams in Africa in order to be able to measure our potential. Of course, it won't be easy to play Uganda, Egypt and Cape Verde, but we are accustomed to facing adversity, we are competitors and we will do our best." 

A total of 16 players, including veteran Soufiane Kourdou and rising star Mohamed Choua, are currently working under new head coach Naoufal Uariachi.

Abdelali Larichi

And one thing is for certain, Group E won't necessarily be an uncharted territory for Morocco.

With exception of Cape Verde they are familiar to Egypt and Uganda. "We know very little about Cape Verde, but I am sure our coaching team will do the job," the 1.92m (6ft 3in) guard said.

He added: "Egypt has been preparing for this tournament for a long time. The Egyptian League finished a month ago or so. This is an advantage for them as our Morocco League has been stopped for a long time."

The 27-year-old point guard has become a key member of the Moroccan team in recent years, having averaged 10 points and 3.7 assists per game at FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers two years ago.

"My role in this team is to try and help some of the new players adapt to our mindset. I will do my best to make things easy for my teammates. After all, we are playing for our country, and we must give our all as a team," he said.

FIBA