KINSHASA (DR Congo) -  Whether DR Congo can retain their FIBA AfroCan title or not, only time will tell when the tournament returns for its second edition in July in Angola.

But three members of the DR Congo AfroCan winning squad adamantly insist that they will be out in the Angolan capital ready to prove that their 2019 AfroCan title wasn't accidental.

Jordan Sakho, Evariste Shonganya and Rolly Fula shared their views in an exclusive chat with FIBA.basketball.

They recalled how DR Congo's victories over Kenya, Nigeria, Chad, and Angola confirmed the country's long-awaited basketball potential.

DR Congo opened their 2019 FIBA AfroCan campaign with an 82-65 win over Kenya, and lifted the tournament's trophy after a second win (82-61) against Kenya. 

Shonganya, one of the tournament's top performers, said: "We'll be ready to fight for the AfroCan title again."

The inaugural FIBA AfroCan was an uncharted territory for all twelve participating teams (Algeria, Angola, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, DR Congo, Egypt, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia). 

None knew what to expect from a competition aimed to give home-based players a chance of competing at international level.

"We arrived in Bamako with a humbling mindset," Sakho said. "We just wanted to play as a team, enjoy ourselves and represent our country the best possible."

Jordan Sakho

After beating Kenya and Nigeria, DR Congo advanced to the Quarter-Finals as Group B winners.

They continued their success in the Last-Eight where they overcame their hardest hurdle, according Shonganya. 

“Chad was the toughest team we played in Bamako. They had high calibre players who gave us some tough time," Shonganya acknowledged. 

That hard-fought win was followed by a win against Angola that steered DR Congo to their first continental victory.

"That group of players was like a united family. We fought for each other every step of the way," Shonganya added.

Sakho filled the only spot available for a foreign-based, and, in his words: "It was a great experience to be part of the tournament. AfroCan is another tool to boost the growth of basketball in Africa. Once again, a competition like the AfroCan was able to reveal new talents, that’s a great thing."

Talking about the legacy of the DR Congo's FIBA AfroCan title, Sakho insisted that basketball hasn't been the same again in the country. 

“Back home football has a popularity of around 80 percent. When we won the AfroCan, a lot more people started following basketball in our country.

"Even Congolese players based abroad started to make them available to represent our country," he recalled. 

Evariste Shonganya

"The future of the game is bright," Shonganya pointed out, adding: "Nowadays when you travel across the country you can see people playing pick-up ball, that's what we mean by the growth of the game."

To try to win a back-to-back FIBA AfroCan, Fulla says there's need to make some adjustments to the squad. 

"We are going to need to add a few new players in order to retain our title. Our main objective is to defend our AfroCan title," he said.

When FIBA Africa announced Angola as host of the 2023 AfroCan, news echoed in the neighbouring DR Congo.

"Angola is the perfect host for us. It'll be like playing at home," Fula stressed.

"Hopefully, our country will have a modern arena in the next few months. There are talks for the construction of a new arena, which will be huge for the growth of basketball in our country," Skaho added.

FIBA