ANG - Cipriano, Almeida back in NT squad

LUANDA (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament) - Two years after making their last appearances for Angola, Olimpio Cipriano and Carlos Almeida are back in the national team.

Each have been named in the preliminary squad for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT).

The two were left out of the Afrobasket 2011 squad that was coached by Michel Gomez.

Angola coach José Carlos Guimarães, who has signed a one and a half year contract with the country's basketball federation to lead the side, has also named eight others in his 17-man squad that did not make last year's team.

Among them is Luis Costa, who last played at Afrobasket 2009.

The beaten finalists at Afrobasket 2011, Angola start their preparations for the OQT in Caracas, Venezuela, on 28 May when travel to Spain.

Twenty days later they will visit Brazil for the remainder of their training camp.

Prior to the 12-team OQT, the 10-time African champions will take part in a two-day warm-up tournament in Caracas starting 27 June.

OQT hosts Venezuela, Jordan and the Dominican Republic will also play in the preparation tournament.

Angola have played at five Olympic tournaments since 1992 but missed out on direct qualification this year after a 67-56 defeat to Tunisia in the Final of Afrobasket 2011 in Madagascar.

There are still three places up for grabs for the London Games, and Angola will take on New Zealand and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in Group D of the OQT.

Guimarães, who played at the 1992 Olympics, took over on 19 May.

"Even though we lost the African title last year," he said, "I still think that Angola is the best African team.

"We will correct the mistakes we made at the Afrobasket and improve our style of game.

"We will play on the counter-attack and encourage our three-pointer shooters, as we always have."

From last year's Afrobasket team, Domingos Bonifácio, Simão Paulo and Miguel Kiala are not included in the coach's plans.

However, Guimarães has added big man Yanick Moreira, a former under-19 international.

The 20-year-old plays in American college basketball at South Plains.

Angola men's preliminary squad for FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament: Leonel Paulo, Carlos Almeida, Armando Costa, Kikas Gomes, Felizardo Ambrósio, Carlos Morais, Paulo Barros, Roberto Fortes, Divaldo Mbunga, Paulo Santana, Jorge Tati, Eduardo Mingas, Milton Barros, Olímpio Cipriano, Luís Costa, Yanick Moreira and Valdelicio Joaquim.

FIBA