Mudiay, Biyombo headline DR Congo preliminary squad for AfroBasket 2017

KINSHASA (FIBA AfroBasket 2017) - The DR Congo have invited some of their most talented players for a training camp for the upcoming FIBA AfroBasket 2017.

"It’s going to be a tough pool for us, but we’ll make sure to build a solid and competitive team which represents our country the best way possible." - Buzangu

The coaching team - led by Charly Buzangu and Joachim Vale Mosengo - kept most of the team that strived during the FIBA Africa Zone 4 qualifiers.

They have also called Emmanuel Mudiay and Bismack Biyombo - the only two Congolese in the NBA -, added former The University of Texas at Austin ace Mick Kabongo and made sure to invite rising star 20-year-old Jordan Sakho from Spain's top flight ICL Manresa.

DR Congo 20-player preliminary squad for FIBA AfroBasket 2017
Bunogo Bayombo	Bismack Biyombo	Aristote Chiza	Myck Kabongo
Herve Kabasele Kasonga	Eric Kibi	Chadrack Lufile	Docta Mutombo Lukusa
Johnny Buzangu Mualaba	Emmanuel Mudiay	Omori Mulumba	Arsene Mbay Mutombo
Roly Fula Nganga	Christian Niamazomi	Mohamed Ntumba	Maxi Munanga Shamba
Jordan Shako	Jericho Samuna	Evariste Shonganya Tolembo	Djo Loo Yele

The DR Congo preliminary squad was confirmed by the country's Basketball Federation in the day they learned they will play the AfroBasket 2017 Group Phase in Tunis against African champions Nigeria, Mali and Cote d'Ivoire.

Talking to FIBA.basketball, Buzangu said: "We’ve put together this group of players because of the opposition we'll face. Teams like Nigeria, Senegal and Cameroon tend to bring their foreign-based players who give them a huge help. Hopefully, our foreign-based players can give us a lift."

Although Buzangu hasn't elaborated the starting date of the training camp, he ensured that "Eighty percent of the players are already in Kinshasa.   

"We are going to play one game at a time as we aim to build a strong team.

"It’s going to be a tough pool for us, but we’ll make sure to build a solid and competitive team which represents our country the best way possible."

This year's Africa Championship will be co-hosted by Senegal and Tunisia from September 8-16.

Groups A and C will be played in Tunis while Groups B and D will be hosted in the Senegalese capital of Dakar.

The top two teams from each group will advance to Tunis, which will also host the Final Phase (Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Finals) from September 14-16.

FIBA