MAPUTO (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers) - Mozambique point guard Pio Matos da Silva feels his national team couldn't have asked for a better start to the FIBA Basketball World 2019 African Qualifiers. 

Playing as hosts of the first-leg of Group D last month, Mozambique beat Cote d'Ivoire and the Central African Republic (CAF) but they lost to continental heavyweights Senegal in the three-day event.

"THE CHEMISTRY WE BUILT WITH OUR FANS THROUGHOUT THE GAMES IN MAPUTO IS SOMETHING THAT I WILL CHERISH FOR THE REST OF MY CAREER. IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE  EXPERIENCE TO ME BECAUSE I HAD LAST PLAYED FOR MOZAMBIQUE AT HOME IN 2011." - Pio Matos

Mozambique's 2-1 record, which opens their race for the five tickets available to African teams for next year's 32-team FIBA Basketball World Cup in China, now raises an inevitable question.

Can they continue to upset higher-ranked teams in the African Qualifiers and reach the 12-team second-round?   

"We won two of our first three games, and we all know that there is a long way to go. But we are an improved team now. We are no longer a team that participates in high-level competitions for the sake of it, we now compete to win games, and that's what aim to do," Matos da Silva - known in Mozambique circle as Pio Matos - explained to FIBA.basketball.

"We dream of securing a place in the World Cup in China. We have never played in one, and it would change the game for good in Mozambique," he added.

Pio Matos averaged 12 points and a team-high three assists per game

And as a result of their February African Qualifiers, Mozambique saw their World Cup aspirations boosted by climbing eight places - Africa's biggest climber - in the latest FIBA World Ranking Presented by Nike.

They currently sit 11th in Africa, and basketball in the country seems to be living a new era.

"In all honesty, these home games proved to be everything our country needed to keep our fans' passion for the game alive," the Ferroviario de Maputo star admitted.

He went on saying: "We entered the competition knowing that the Central African Republic, Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire were good teams, and we needed to be disciplined, play as a team, and more importantly, never quit regardless of our position in the games." 

Mozambique fans showed up in considerable numbers in support of their heroes

And, although Mozambique women's national team has - for many years - been the country's basketball flag bearer, Pio Matos, and Co have won the hearts of local supporters who were seen cheering, chanting and dancing throughout the games against CAF, Senegal, and Cote d'Ivoire.

"Our national team usually plays major international competitions abroad, which makes our fans' interest on the team a bit distant," Pio Matos offered. 

Meanwhile, one thing the 27-year-old guard is certain of is the fact that Mozambique supporters played a major factor in last month's African Qualifiers in their capital city of Maputo.  

"They never stopped supporting us even we were down, they kept chanting and encouraging us to keep going."

"The chemistry we built with our fans throughout the games in Maputo is something I will cherish for the rest of my career. It was an incredible experience to me because I had last played for Mozambique at home in 2011," he revealed.

Mozambique were so determined to protect their home-court that it came as no surprise that they had the best defensive record among African teams in February's Qualifiers, conceding only 165 points in three games.  

"Playing at home meant a lot to us as a country, especially as we were able to show that we can compete against big teams on the continent of Africa," the 6ft2in (1.89m) guard said, adding: "We showed not only to Africans but also to the world that we can rise to the occasion when it comes to defending our home. Our defense was key to our success. If you don't play defense against those teams you end up conceding 100 points."

"We are happy, because we were capable of giving our countrymen and women something to cheer about. Despite the poverty level in our country, we had to step up and play our best game," the Nicoadala native explained.

Undeniably, one of February's African Qualifiers highlights was Pio Matos' buzzer-beater three-pointer. 

"Usually I practice that kind of shot at the end of training sessions, but making it during a national team game was something special. And the way our fans reacted made me emotional because I felt that I had contributed to their happiness. Hopefully, our youth can feel inspired and do better than that in the future."

The second-leg of Group D of the African Qualifiers resumes in June in Dakar, Senegal.

FIBA