ANG – Defending champions refuse to lose

ANTANANARIVO (Afrobasket) - There have been some thrilling games played at Afrobaskets over the years.

Thursday's clash between Angola and Cameroon is now among them.

Angola, the dominant force of African basketball, the nation that has captured gold at every Afrobasket but one since 1989, were twice on the ropes against Cameroon but somehow, someway managed to win 84-83 in overtime and stay in the hunt for an automatic place at next year's Olympics.

Champions never go quietly, and Angola are the biggest champions in the history of the African game.

Trailing by as many as 13 points in the game and down 76-71 with 10 seconds to go after two Parfait Bitee free-throws for Cameroon, Milton Barros came off the bench for Angola and buried a three-ball to close the gap to two.

Then just two seconds later, Barros stepped in front of Bitee and drew a charge to give Angola the ball back and a chance to pull level or take the lead.

After an Angolan timeout, Angola ran a play that ended up with Felizardo Ambrosio being left with plenty of room to step into the lane from the free-throw line, catch an inbound pass from Barros and score over a Cameron center who was slow in reacting.

The basket sent the game to overtime.

In the extra period, with Angola clinging to an 82-81 advantage, Bitee brought the ball up the floor, stopped on the left side of the free-throw line and drilled a 10-footer to give Cameroon the lead with just five seconds to go.

Victory again looked to be going to Cameroon.

But after Angola inbounded the ball to Morais and he dribbled at midcourt, Cameroon’s Franck Ndongo made the biggest error of his international career.

He reached in and attempted to bat the ball away.

The referee called a foul, and Morais made both free-throws to put Angola back on top.

Cameroon still had time to clinch victory and got a good luck from the right side but a long jump shot hit off the front of the rim and stayed out.

Angola's players ran onto the floor and climbed into the stands to celebrate with their fans an incredible victory.

Barros played just six minutes but ended up as one of the team's heroes with his late three-pointer and then terrific defensive play in drawing a charge.

He was also credited with an assist on Ambrosio's game-tying lay-up at the end of regulation.

“We won because of our spirit of confidence," Barros said.

"All players in our squad must be ready to step up and contribute.

As for the three-pointer, Barros said of point guard Domingos Bonifacio: “I must thank my teammate, who made a big pass to me with a few seconds to play.

“I dedicate this big victory to my family, who I don’t see for three months because of being with my national team."

Angola have had a soap-opera like week.

At this Afrobasket, they suffered a rare defeat in falling to Senegal 85-78 but hit back to win against Morocco and Mozambique to set up the Quarter-Final clash with Cameroon.

But the country's basketball federation decided to remove national team coach Michel Gomez from the bench on Wednesday, believing the team was not playing well.

Assistant coach Angolan Jaime Covilhã took over and now has a win under his belt.

Few coaches will have had such a dramatic first triumph as Covilhã.

“This is not a personal victory," he said. "This is a victory of the players.

"They are the best players in the world.

“They refused to lose the game and they did what they can do best.”

At the end of the game, Angolan forward Ambrosio jumped into the crowd to hug Michel Gomez, the dismissed coach.

Ambrosio paid tribute to Gomez, saying: “We have learned a lot with him.”

So Angola are alive and well, but only just.

A victory in the Semi-Finals against Nigeria would ensure Covilhã’s team a place in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Angola, however, will be going for another gold medal to qualify directly for the London Games.

FIBA