LUANDA (Angola) - They are currently far from being the strongest team on the continent at this age group, but Angola can't be overlooked just because they rank well below the continent powerhouses.

A lot has been said about Angola's resurgence in the big scene of African basketball, and the 2022 FIBA U18 African Championship could shed light on what lies ahead for the basketball-mad country. 

A podium finish in Antananarivo would be a positive note for Angola, but reach the Championship Game, which qualify both teams for next year's FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup should be the cherry on the cake. 

How about winning it all? Well, that would be a game-changing for Angola, who are well aware that they need to be better than frontrunners Egypt, Mali and Senegal. 

This is a country that has seen two of their players - Gerson Domingos and Silvio De Sousa - being named MVPs of the FIBA U18 African Championship in 2014 and 2016, respectively, but winning the competition title is proving more and more difficult for them.

Here are some fact files about the Angolan team.

Team: Angola
FIBA Ranking U18 Boys: 47th (World), 8th (Africa)
Last participation at U18 African Championship: 2018
Best result at U18 African Championship: African champions in 2016
How they qualified for the 2022 U18 African Championship: Angola qualified as winners as FIBA Africa Zone 6 qualifiers held in December in Lesotho.
World: Angola have featured IN two editions of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup (2009 and 2017) and competed in the 2014 FIBA U17 FIBA Basketball World Cup. 
History/Qualification: Angola have only missed one of the last eight edition of the FIBA U18 African Championship (2020). 

Head Coach: Apolinario Paquete has made historic on the continent of Africa after helping InterClube de Luanda to three FIBA Africa Champions Cup for Women titles, the most of any coach on the continent.

This is Paquete's first assignment as head coach of the U18 Angolan team. He last coached his country at the 2019 FIBA Women's AfroBasket in Cameroon.

Outlook: This year's U18 African Championship not only represents another opportunity for Angola to try to return to the podium of the competition for the first time since finishing fourth in 2018, but it also gives them a chance to recover from the 15 places they dropped in the FIBA World Rankings for boys.

Nevertheless, Antananarivo is a place of positive memories for Angola. It was in the Malagasy capital where Angola won their only FIBA U16 African Championship in 2013. A year later, Angolans finished fourth in the U18 African Championship in Antananarivo before winning the tournament title two years later in Kigali.

Angola beat Egypt in the Final of the 2016 FIBA U18 African Championship in Kigali

Angola currently sit at number 8 on the continent behind the likes of Algeria, DR Congo, Guinea, Nigeria and the top-3 Mali, Egypt and Senegal. 

To prove they belong on the top-5 of Africa, Angola need a strong start to the competition, which may signal whether or not they can reach the semis.

At this stage, Angola's potential and chances is anyone's guess. 

FIBA