LEEDS (Julio Chitunda's African Message) - Africa's five representatives at FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 have been drawn against tough opponents, but can they transform their low-ranked status into something big?

The continent's highest-ranked team Nigeria head to the China 2019 showpiece at No.33 in the FIBA World Rankings while Cote d'Ivoire come at No. 64 - the lowest among the 32 participating teams. 

In Group A, three-time World Cup participant Cote d'Ivoire will go up against hosts China, Poland and Venezuela. The 'Elephants' recorded their last win at the 2010 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Turkey after beating Puerto Rico although they missed out a place in the Second Round.

Winners of the 2015 African championship, Nigeriaface a daunting task in Group B where they will play Russia, Argentina and Korea.

The reigning African champions Tunisia - who made their World Cup debut in 2010 and chase their first-ever win in the competition history, have been matched up against Iran, Spain and Puerto Rico in Group C.

In Group D, Angola will square off against Serbia, Italy and Philippines while Senegal have been drawn against Australia, Canada and Lithuania in Group H.

As I mentioned above the five-team African lineup will face tough - and in the some cases - better opposition, but they have been there before and today's column aims to show how African countries beat the odds in the past by shocking some top-ranked teams.

1. Nigeria v Serbia (& Montenegro), August 19th 2006, Sendai, Japan

Led by former small forward Ime Udoka (now serving as an assistant coach of San Antonio Spurs of the NBA), Nigerians' second World Cup participation couldn't have started any better than beating Serbia & Montenegro 82-75 on Day 1 in Sendai, Japan..

Against the likes of Igor Rakocevic and Darko Milic, Udoka-led Nigeria put on a show to deny podium contender Serbia & Montenegro.

And although Nigeria finished in 14th place in the 24-team event, as a result of a 2-4 mark, that victory entered the history books as one of the West African's biggest achievements in international competition

2. Angola v Australia, September 4th 2014, Gran Canaria, Spain

The eleven-time African champions headed to the Spain 2014 showpiece on the back of a injury-riddled preparation campaign, which saw Carlos Morais pull out just days before the start of the competition, yet, they made some noise in the Group Phase.

And, beating Australia for the second time in three World Cup meetings was Angola's re-ward for a campaign where they fell just short against highly-ranked Slovenia. 

3. Senegal v Croatia, September 1st 2014, Sevilla, Spain

Drawn against Argentina, Croatia, Greece, Puerto Rico and Philippines in Group B, Senegal turned their underdogs' accolades into one of the biggest stories of the tournament.

Led by Gorgui Dieng and Mouhammad Faye, Senegal not only beat Croatia 77-75, but they went on to reach the Eight-Finals of the competition where they fell to hosts Spain at a sellout Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidade in the capital Madrid.

Other historic moments involving Africa World Cup participants included Angola's wins over Germany (2010), Canada (2002), Brazil (1994) and Australia in 1986.

Julio Chitunda
FIBA

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