LUANDA (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament) – Angola have yet to announce who will lead the men’s national team following the expiration of Jaime Covilha’s contract in September.

Covilha took the helm of the national team in August, midway through their Afrobasket 2011 campaign in Madagascar, following the sacking of Frenchman Michel Gomez.

In his first game, Covilha led the Angolans to a memorable 84-83 victory over Cameroon in the Quarter-Finals.

The Angolans came from behind in that game and won in overtime.

He then pulled all the right strings as the Angolans prevailed in the Semi-Final against Nigeria, 76-68. 

In the Gold Medal game, however, the African powerhouse went off the rails and fell 67-56 to Tunisia, a result that gave the north Africans direct qualification to the London 2012 Games.

Instead, Angola settled for a silver medal and a place in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Now, with the qualifiers tipping off on July 2, and despite receiving approval by Angolan fans, the 48-year-old Covilha admits he is “far to be the chosen man” to guide the national team.

“I had a conversation with the federation after the Afrobasket and nothing was decided,” Covilha said to FIBA.com.

“I don’t think I’ll be the coach.”

Whoever does lead Angola in the 12-team Olympic qualifiers will find it a tough task.

Only three spots for the London Games will be up for grabs and the sides going after them include Russia, F.Y.R. of Macedonia, Lithuania, Greece, Nigeria, Jordan, Korea, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, New Zealand and Angola.

“It is a very difficult tournament that includes very ambitious and experienced teams,” Covilha said.

“(But) Angola has no less ambition or will to go to London than other teams, and I believe that whoever is named Angola coach will have a fantastic group of hard-working players.

“I know the Angolan players well enough to say that they will give everything to go to the Olympics.”

Asked about what went wrong in Madagascar, Covilha felt that their “three-point shooting game had not worked as expected.”

They made 58 of 203 (28.6%) from long range in Antananarivo.

He also said that Tunisia “was a strong opponent that showed high-quality.”

Following six defeats to Angola in the last 22 years, including in the Semi-Finals two years ago, Tunisia got sweet revenge.

Tunisia’s defensive strategy disrupted the Angolans.

The last time Angola had scored less than 56 points was at AfroBasket 2001, in a 54-43 win over Nigeria in Rabat, Morocco.

“My players made me very proud of them,” he said.

“I just want to thank them for what they did in Madagascar, and for me they are the best players in the world.”

Julio Chitunda

FIBA