TRIPOLI (Libya) - Although they are making their first AfroBasket appearance in 16 years, Libya proved during the qualifiers that they belong among the continent's elite.
Angola 2025 marks a new beginning for Libya, which openly admits that they are headed to the African Championship as an underdogs.
Libya's qualification for the flagship tournament of FIBA Africa rewrote the narrative in Zone 1, as Morocco are set to miss AfroBasket for the second consecutive time.
A significant part of the new reality in Africa's northernmost region is how Libya has emerged from the ashes, determined to return to where they believe they belong.
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Road to Angola 2025
Libya's journey to Angola 2025 began a pre-qualifier series win over Morocco. Then, they showed what they are made of in the qualifiers.
It must be said that 2025 AfroBasket Qualifiers were anything but an easy ride for Libya.
However, Libya made an early statement of their intentions by beating Nigeria 89-92 in overtime in the first round of the qualifiers in Monastir, Tunisia in February 2024.
A 72-68 loss to Cape Verde followed before they bounced back with a 71-59 over Uganda.
Encouraged by their results in Tunisia, Libya successfully bid to host the second round Groups B and E in February this year.
Libya lost to Nigeria (75-70) in the opener of the second round, but they beat Cape Verde (82-80) and Uganda (69-66) to close their qualifying campaign with a 4-2 mark
AfroBasket history
Hosts of the 2009 FIBA AfroBasket, Libya opened their campaign with an 88-72 victory over South Africa, but three straight losses to eventual finalists Côte d'Ivoire and Angola, and another against Nigeria undermined their chances. They eventually finished 11th thanks to their 3-4 record.
Prior to the 2009 tournament, Libya had appeared in the even in 1965, 1970 and 1978.
Coaching staff
Former NBA player Sam Vincent has recently replace Fouad Abou Chacra, who led the team throughout the qualifiers and helped Al Ahli Tripoli win the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) title.
Vincent is well known in African basketball circles.
He was in charge of South Africa's MBB in 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) Nile Conference in May and was part of Rwanda's APR coaching staff during the league's playoffs in June in Pretoria, South Africa.
Vincent coached Nigeria's men and women's national teams and also coached the Senegalese men's team for a short time.
He led Nigeria to win the 2017 FIBA Women's AfroBasket title in Bamako, Mali.
In 2004, Vincent was the coach of Nigeria's women's basketball team at the Olympics in Athens. The team won a game, which was the first time an African team had won in the Olympics. They beat the Korean team.
Key Players
Mohamed Sadi, Nasseim Badrush, and Wajdi Dawo played pivotal roles in Libya's qualification for the 2025 AfroBasket tournament.
Dawo, who is 36 years old, is the only player in the current squad who played in the 2009 AfroBasket.
Sadi is known for his versatile role. He made history by becoming the first player to register a triple-double in an AfroBasket qualifier.
In Libya's opening qualifier game, Sadi finished with 24 points, 12 assists, and 10 steals. He was a rebound shy of a quadruple-double.
Badrush, a dentist by trade, is a lethal combo guard who uses his shooting prowess to elevate his team's offense.
Outlook
Opponents must be aware that this Libyan team cannot be underestimated; otherwise, they risk paying a hefty price.
It remains to be seen how Coach Vincent will implement his philosophy with a group of players who worked with Coach Abou Chacra for over two years.
FIBA