SHEFFIELD (Julio Chitunda's African Message) - The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) lost all three of their games in the first-leg of Group C of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers, but it's too soon to rule them out of advancing to the Second Round. 

Drawn in what many - including me - describe as the "Group of Death", DR Congo lost to Angola, Egypt and Morocco in November to start their World Cup African Qualifiers campaign.

But they are not backing down just yet.

And although they face a do-or-die situation in Cairo in the June-July window - during which they must win as many games as possible in order to secure one of Group C's three spots for the 12-team Second Round of the African Qualifiers - the Congolese rightfully remain adamant that they can beat anyone on their group.

Last summer, the Congolese ended a 10-year FIBA AfroBasket drought by stunning then-reigning champions Nigeria before they advanced to the Quarter-Finals of FIBA Africa's flagship event. These achievements came on the back of a roster consisting mostly of home-based players.

"It may seem impossible for some, but for us - players - we feel we can win all those three games," the 6ft8in (2.02m) power forward said.

"Obviously, Angola, Egypt and Morocco are very good teams, but it’s possible to beat them. I also accept that there is room for improvement in our game style, but we are determined to make things happen."

"I heard that a number of overseas-based Congolese players are willing to join the national team next month. For sure, this could be a major help to us. Our fans, not only in DR Congo but also from all over the world believe in us and we - as a team - believe in ourselves."

If one looks thoroughly to all four Group C teams, you can easily conclude that any of those teams could qualify for China 2019.

But who can make it to the 32-team FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019, and why? 

“Walking through the streets of our country you can easily realize how passionate young kids are about basketball. Now, that we have a chance to compete for a place in the World Cup, we have to give those young men and women hope of one day representing our country on the world stage."

"There are lots of basketball talents in our country, and all they need is international exposure. I feel privileged to be one of the players to be able to carry our country’s flag."

Evariste Shonganya (far left) was named to the FIBA Africa Champions Cup 2017 All-Tournament team

Last December, Shonganya put on a show leading his Tunisian team Union Sportive Monastirienne to the Third-Place of the FIBA Africa Champions Cup (ACC), and it came as no surprise that the 27-year-old was named to the ACC All-Tournament team. 

"I have just finished my season with Monastir, now, I am focused on helping my national team to fight back and grab a ticket in the second round," he said, adding: "We need to shoot the ball better. Personally, I need to be more aggressive offensively. I won an individual [ACC] trophy, but I feel I can do a lot more than that and help my country."

"It’s taken us more than ten years to compete in the FIBA AfroBasket, now that we are presented with this FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers opportunity, we are going to try and make the most of it, and qualify to China is obviously our main goal."

Group C of the African Qualifiers will run from June 29 to July 1 in Cairo, Egypt.

Stay tuned.

Julio Chitunda

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

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