GENEVA (Switzerland) - As Saturday's draw unfolded and placed Cote d'Ivoire in Group A alongside hosts China, Poland and Venezuela, the 'Elephants' head coach Paolo Povia insisted they got used to being outsiders.

At No.64, Cote d'Ivoire appear as the lowest-ranked team - according to FIBA World Ranking presented by Nike - in the 32-nation FIBA Basketball World China 2019.

Yet, they are not backing down.

Paolo Povia (Cote d'Ivoire)

"None gave us a chance to qualify for this World Cup, and we did it. None believed we could beat Nigeria, and we did it. We had been ruled out from start to finish of the African Qualifiers, and here we are. We are going to play the host nation China in Beijing. How exciting is this?" Povia said to FIBA.basketball.

After losing five games in the African Qualifiers, the Western Africans came out of nowhere in the sixth and final qualifying window in their largest city of Abidjan to overcome what seemed a mission impossible.

"HOW TO KEEP MY TEAM MOTIVATED FOR THE CHALLENGES AHEAD? OUR RECENT PAST SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. WE HAVE OVERCOME MANY BARRIERS TOGETHER OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS. I WOULD SAY THAT ONE OF STRONGEST POINTS IS OUR TOGETHERNESS ATTITUDE."- Paolo Povia

The Ivorians needed to win their last three games with a combined margin of at least 65 or 66 points, depending on the number of points scored (65 if they scored over 294 points, 66 points if they score under 294). 

They not only overwhelmed highly favoured Nigeria 72-46, but they also outscored Mali and Rwanda by large winning-margin, which were good enough to become Africa's best third-placed team and complete the continent's five-team line-up for the China 2019 showpiece.

"I like and I am happy for the group we are in because these are teams that we can compete against. Both Poland and Venezuela have made significant progress recently, China play at home, but we have become a better team," Povia explained before adding: "Obviously, playing China in front of their fans will be challenging, but my  team is made up of a group of warriors who got used to being outsiders. 

"How to keep my team motivated for the challenges ahead? Our recent past speaks for itself. We have overcome many barriers together over the last few months. I would say that one of our strongest points is our togetherness attitude," the Italian play-caller noted. 

 Asked about Cote d'Ivoire objectives in China, Povia noted they will not be making up numbers: "We are ambitious enough to dream of advancing to the Second Round of the World Cup. We hope to win at least two games to do so."

FIBA