ANG - Angola chasing seventh World Cup appearance in two decades

ABIDJAN (AfroBasket/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Angola have one of the most successful African basketball programmes which has enanbled them to win 10 continental titles in the past 24 years.

They became regulars at the FIBA World Championship starting in 1986, but they missed the then 16-team event in 1998 in Athens, Greece, following a bronze medal in the African Championship a year earlier.

Angola have reached the last four at the AfroBasket 2013, where three places for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup are at stake.

On Friday evening, they will take on hosts Cote d'Ivoire in the second Semi-Finals, following the one between Egypt and Senegal.

The winners of each Semi-Final will clinch their places for Spain 2014 while the losers will battle it out in Saturday's Third-Place Game for the third and final place on offer.

Angola reached the Semis unbeaten in five games and go into their clash with the AfroBasket hosts motivated to not to have their absence at FIBA's flagship event in 1998 not repeat itself.

For head coach Paulo Macedo, a former Angolan international who featured in two FIBA World Championships (1986 and 1990), his teams is ready to roll into Spain 2014.

"We know what Cote d'Ivoire is capable of doing, and we have all the information we need to face them," he said.

"We want to play in the Final, and we'll seek to stop their strongest points.

"We want to secure the world championship place on Friday," he explained.

One of the notable elements in the AfroBasket 2013 has been the tireless home crowd.

For Macedo, this is not an issue.

"We have very experienced players who are playing their fourth Semi-Final, most of them outside the Angolan soil. And our fans have already arrived in Abidjan and they will not leave us alone," he pointed out.

"We are calm because our team is playing well. We are looking forward to play a great game and play in the final."

Joaquim Gomes is one of those experienced players Macedo referred to. He has played three FIBA World Championships and four AfroBasket Semi-Finals.

Gomes spoke to FIBA.com, and said Angola's "main objective is to win the Semi-Final game on Friday and grab a place in the World Championship.

"But we must acknowledge we are playing the home team and they are the team that is playing the best game in the tournament, and they are highly motivated.

"We are ready, we are in a position we wanted to be. We just need to be focused because we know it will be a tough game."

As for the pressure from the home crowd, the 33-year-old power forward believes it will not be a major issue for the Angolans.

"They might influence our game for the positive, although I must admit that the crowd has been doing an exceptional job for the home team. But this is a positive for us," Gomes added.

"Angola is used to play this kind of games, we just need to stick with our game plan."

FIBA