SHEFFIELD (Julio Chitunda's African Message) - I always have mixed feelings when athletes decide to pull out of their national teams ahead of major tournaments for non-injury or family-related reasons.

So many times, I thought that representing the national team was the culmination of any athlete's career, but in the instances that I raise in this column, even the players felt somehow divided.

Last week, Maurice Ndour and Yanick Moreira - two of the players that I was most looking forward to watching at AfroBasket 2015 in Tunisia - opted to watch Africa's elite basketball tournament from home because they have in common a bigger basketball dream to fulfil.

Moreira invited the local press to the Angolan Basketball Federation's offices last Thursday to announce what his fellow Angolans feared and didn't want to believe that he was not joining his national side teammates in Spain where they are currently hold a training camp for AfroBasket 2015.

Moreira, who turns 24 this week confirmed that he has a preseason agreement with the Los Angeles Clippers, and that representing Angola in Tunisia would probably delay or perhaps end his best chance to enter the NBA.

The Angolan ace looked emotional, but there was a general feeling of pride and understanding in the room.

After all, the 2.11m center will be Angola's sixth player trying to enter the league, after unsuccessful attempts by Gerson Monteiro, Olimpio Cipriano, Victor Muzadi, Valdelicio Joaquim and Carlos Morais.

After playing five games for the Clippers at the Las Vegas Summer League earlier this month, Moreira accepted an invitation to return to LA for the preseason and will be trying to end the Angolans' frustration of not having a player in the biggest basketball league in the world.

As a result of aiming to achieve his NBA dream, Moreira will miss out on his first-ever AfroBasket appearance but will certainly be on a mission for his country in Los Angeles.

Surely Moreira's absence will increase the chances of Valdelicio Joaquim shining for the 11-time African champion nation.

As for Ndour, he had a reasonable campaign for Senegal at 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. But having watched him leading the New York Knicks team in Las Vegas last week - averaging 9.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in five games - gave me the impression that he had matured quickly enough, and was ready to dominate Senegal's opposition at AfroBasket.

Instead, the 23-year-old, who was overlooked in the last month's NBA draft, he has agreed terms with the Dallas Mavericks.

While the Knicks were hesitant to sign the 2.06m forward, the Mavericks were certain that Ndour was a valuable asset and offered him his first NBA contract.

"It's good for him," said Senegal head coach Cheikh Sarr.

We congratulate him and his family because all basketball college students in the US dream of signing for a franchise like Dallas. - Sarr

Unlike Moreira, Ndour could become the 11th Senegalese to enter the NBA after Makhtar Ndiaye, Mamadou Ndiaye, DeSagana Diop, Pape Sow, Malick Badiane, Boniface Ndong, Saer Sene, Hamady Ndiaye, Gorgui Dieng and Cheikh Samb.

For the Angolans, Moreira's absence seems to diminish their chances in Tunisia, especially after the withdrawals through injury of Milton Barros and Cipriano. But Moreira reminded everyone that he "won't be missed".

As a sports writer, I always look forward to seeing newcomers shine bright on the big stage.

However, this time around, it won't be either of Ndour or Moreira, but someone down the line will surely do the trick.

Julio Chitunda

FIBA

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