SHEFFIELD (Julio Chitunda's African Message) - Judging by the opinions of players, coaches and officials, AfroBasket 2015 could be Africa's most competitive basketball tournament ever.

And almost everyone wants to win it.

Following Saturday's night draw held in Tunis, Tunisia, 13 national teams found out some of their opponents for Africa's most prestigious basketball event, set to take place in the Tunisian cities of Tunis and Nabeul, from 19 to 30 August.

The remaining three wildcard entries from a group of seven candidates - South Africa, Algeria, Senegal, Central African Republic (CAF), Guinea, Rwanda and the Republic of Congo (COD) - will be selected later this month to round out the 16-team field.

The tournament draw was a step on the road to earn the place on offer for African teams to qualify for the 2016 Olympics.

A handful of teams will aim to finish on the top step of the podium and clinch direct qualification for the Rio Games.

In Group A, hosts Tunisia will take on debutants Uganda, Nigeria and a team to be determined.

The reigning champions Angola have been drawn in Group B along with Mozambique, Morocco and another team to be decided through the wild card process.

AfroBasket 2013 runners-up Egypt are in Group C and will face Gabon, Mali and Cameroon, while Group D is composed of Cote d'Ivoire, Cape Verde, another team making its debut in Zimbabwe and a team from the wildcard process.

Four years ago in Madagascar, Tunisia - a basketball giant in the making on the African continent - snapped Angola's run of five consecutive Olympic appearances to make their debut at London 2012.

Now, the general feeling is that the hosts of AfroBasket 2015 are the team to beat as they have what it takes to make their second Olympic appearance.

To find out more, I talked with some AfroBasket protagonists, and asked them for their impressions of the draw as well as their opinions about the upcoming tournament.

This is what they told me.

A key member of the Morocco national team over the past few years, Younes Idriss said: "It depends on what's the fourth national team. If Senegal is the one team to receive a wild card in our group, then it is going to be super hard, a tough group."

Gabon's Stephane Lasme may be focused on helping his Anadolu Efes Istanbul team in the Top 16 Group F of the Euroleague, but he keeps an eye on his national team's future.

"I think we can make some noise. We are underdogs, which is not a bad place to be. We have no pressure," he said.

Ike Diogu led Nigeria in scoring in his last three international appearances for the West African country. He is now a free agent, but is hopeful of wearing the D'Tigers colours again.

"Tunisia will be tough as will the other teams. We learned from the last AfroBasket, [that] we can't overlook anybody and this group of Nigerians will not overlook the competition at all. We look forward to a tough challenge," said the 31-year-old who most recently played for the Dongguan Leopards in China's CBA.

I’m excited with our group it will be a very tough one - Diogu

Cote d'Ivoire forward Guy Landry Edi, who plays for Chalons-Reims in the French top flght, feels confident and prepared to take his national team where he believes they belong.

"I think it's a very good draw for us to clinch that top spot in the group," said the former Gonzaga University player. "I have got more experience playing professional and the other guys also are on the same path to stay focused and work hard to get it done in the summer.

Our goal is to finally win the championship and I think we have the pieces - Edi

Octavio Magolico, who led Mozambique in scoring and rebounding at AfroBasket 2013, said: "Our performance in the tournament depends on the level and quality of our preparation programme. We have a new coach, we have experienced players, and a group of talented young players coming up this year. I think we are going to do well in Tunisia."

Mali's Mohamed Tangara said: "I like our chances in the Group C. Much respect to Egypt who participated in the [FIBA Basketball] World Cup. Cameroon is a big basketball country who has good players around the world. Gabon, we can't sleep on them, they did what they got to to be qualified, that's the reason they will come out with the mindset to win games. We got some good veterans players such as Yohann Sangare, Amara Sy and many others who are still in conversation to rejoin the national team. Either way with young players or with our experienced veterans, we will have players who can get the job done."

We have a great group of talented young guys, and our federation is working hard to add all missed pieces to our national team - Tangara

Egypt guard Ibrahim El Gammal has lived the dream of playing and leading the North African country in scoring at Spain 2014. Now, he insists, it is about time to think and work towards the Rio de Janeiro Games.

"Group C is a strong one. After playing in the [2014] FIBA [Basketball] World Cup, our next dream dream is to play in the [2016] Olympic Games. We have big dreams, and I hope we perform well once again at AfroBasket 2015," he explained.

Former Cape Verde international Rodrigo Mascarenhas, who served as the country's head coach during the two-team qualifiers in February in their capital city of Praia, feels they can do a lot better than they did in Abidjan two years ago, where they fell short to Egypt in the Quarter-Finals.

For Mascarenhas, their AfroBasket history makes him to believe that they can go farther in the tournament.

“If Senegal receives a wildcard, and it is placed in our group D, then, it will be very competitive one. But, I feel with the guys that we have playing overseas we can match or improve our AfroBasket 2007 record [where they finished third]," he pointed out.

Cameroon's Louis Tsoungui was in charge of the Republic of Congo two years ago in Abidjan. They went winless in five games, but he is now in charge of his own country's national team and is aiming for big things.

"Egypt is the toughest opponent in our group," he said.

"They want to win the championship, [but] so do we. We aim to improve our record from AfroBasket 2013. But we have to respect the other teams, Mali and Gabon. If Mali brings some professional players based in France and organise themselves, they can be a threat. Gabon needs to be respected. Right now, I am waiting to hear from the federation about my preparation programme. I expect to start working on my plan from 2 June."

Three years ago, Tunisia guard and team captain Amine Rzig had a memorable experience in the British capital.

He hit three of his three-pointer attempts against Lithuania in their final day at the London Olympics en route to a game-high 17 points.

He says, winning only comes by respecting opponents: "Nigeria could be a tough opponent if they bring some of their NBA players. We don't know much about the Ugandan team but if they qualified, it is because they deserve to be part of the tournament, and we must respect them. Our goal is to win every game and win the gold medal in our country."

The teams that finish second and third at AfroBasket 2015 will have a second chance to qualify for the 2016 Rio Games by playing in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Julio Chitunda

FIBA

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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