AfroBasket's dominance at stake in Abidjan

SHEFFIELD (Julio Chitunda's African Message) - More than qualifying the three African teams for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the 2013 AfroBasket is poised to become the most competitive African tournament ever, putting the dominance of African basketball at stake.

Africa champions Tunisia and Angola are the teams to beat.

Unlike previous years, most national teams managed to attract their finest players, including some with NBA and European basketball experience.

From 20 to 31 August, Cote d’Ivoire capital city of Abidjan will turn into the battle ground to Africa’s basketball dominance.

And of course, all eyes will be turned to Tunisia.

"Can they hold on to their 2011 African title for two more years?" This is one of the questions of the moment in African basketball circles.

Well, nothing could be more indicative of Tunisia’s intention of defending their African title than their recent activities.

Head coach Adel Tlatli and his team have been practicing and traveling between Europe and Africa since early June – longer than any other team - and they could not be more motivated after a bronze medal at the Mediterranean Games where they faced The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MKD), Italy, Serbia and Turkey.

Tunisia became the first team to arrive in Abidjan - a week before the tournament - and they clearly hope to end their 2013 AfroBasket journey with a grin face.

No other team in this year's AfroBasket has attracted as much expectation as Nigeria, especially because of their successful 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in Caracas, Venezuela.

And they increased their chances of winning their first Africa title as head coach Ayodele Bakare will have the services of six of the twelve Nigeria London Olympians, including Ike Diogu, brothers Al-Farouq and Alade Aminu, Chamberlain Oguchi, Olumide Oyedeji, Richard Oruche and the addition of both Ben Uzoh and Gani Lawal.

With a talented team like this, this is a win now-or-never tournament for Nigeria.

For hosts Cote d’Ivoire, this is a must-win event.

They last won their second Africa’s title in 1985 as hosts of the tournament.

Now, in order to make their home fans proud, the country’s basketball federation re-appointed head coach Natxo Lezkano and they bring a talented team led foreign-based trio of Mouloukou Diabate, Guy Edi and Mohamed Kone.

The Ivoirians are clearly a podium contender and they must enjoy playing in front of home fans rather than accusing the pressure of failing.

Over the past two decades, Angola dominated the game in the continent, until Tunisia came stronger two years ago and interrupted their six-championship winning streak.

Although ten-time Africa champions Angola and the continent’s highest ranked team, they generate a lot of debate about their real potential among some top African players.

Nigerian Ike Diogu, for instance, told me in the aftermath of the London Olympics that he was tired of always seeing Angola in the Olympics.

Two years ago, minutes after a Cameroon 84-83 defeat to Angola, I rang Luc Mbah a Moute who voiced his frustration although he recognized Angola’s determination to win even though he did not play.

When 2011 absentee Olimpio Cipriano is "highly motivated as he currently is", an Angolan basketball official tells me, "very few can stop him".

But, one of Angola’s strongest points is the coaching staff led by former Angolan international Paulo Macedo and his assistant Jaime Covilha.

Cameroon’s recent AfroBasket’s history cannot be written without a mention to Angola.

The Angolans defeated Cameroon in the final of the 2007 AfroBasket, before they eliminated them in the quarter finals of the 2011 event.

So, there is an unfinished business between these two teams that may continue in Abidjan.

The battle to end Angola’s African basketball dominance began two years ago, when Senegal became the first team to stop Angola’s 29-game winning streak thanks to an outstanding performance by both Mamadou Ndoye and Mouhammad Faye who combined 40 points.

Faye is in Abidjan and he is likely to make big impact in the tournament again.

There is lots of interest to follow at this year's AfroBasket, including how the Egyptian team will performance despite the social unrest back home.

Or, how far can the Republic of Congo and debutant Burkina Faso go. Or even, how Cape Verde will perform to repeat presence in the podium.

If I am not wrong, the podium composition of this year’s AfroBasket will definitely be utterly different to the one in 2011 event.

Julio Chitunda

FIBA

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