ANG - Guimarães dismisses concerns about injury-hit Tall Blacks

LUANDA (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament) – Injuries have robbed New Zealand of two key players for this summer’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) but Group D opponents Angola aren’t drawing extra encouragement ahead of their forthcoming showdown.

The Tall Blacks, who have Kirk Penney (calf) and Tom Abercrombie (ankle) ruled out of the OQT, and Angola meet on 4 July in Caracas, Venezuela.

The clash could decide which team advances to the Quarter-Finals of the event.

“Let me tell you this,” Angola’s newly-appointed head coach José Carlos Guimarães said to FIBA.com.

“(Team USA’s) Chris Bosh is out with an injury and it has not stopped the Miami Heat from winning (play-off) games.

“Without one or two players, they remain a strong opponent.

“Who knows if New Zealand has substitute players waiting for an opportunity like this?

“We never know how other players will react.

“It may encourage others to step up, impress and ending up doing better.”

The other side in Group D at the 12-team OQT is the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

Angola veterans return

While the Tall Blacks will be without two vital players, Angola will welcome two of theirs back.

Olímpio Cipriano and Carlos Almeida, players who did not represent the country at last year’s Afrobasket, are in the preliminary squad and both are expected to be big contributors in Venezuela.

Guimarães says that both players bring experience to the squad, but that “they will be treated like anybody else in the team.”

Cipriano has just helped Recreativo do Libolo win their first Angolan league title.

“He was the MVP in the Angolan league in the past two seasons, and we welcome his return to the national team,” the 48-year-old coach said. 

Unexpectedly, 2008 Olympian Luis Costa declined to join the 17-men preliminary team for personal reasons.

His decision has led to Guimarães calling 21-year-old shooting guard Edson Ndoniema into the squad.

Ndoniema played for Angola at the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship in New Zealand.

Angola’s second-place finish at Afrobasket 2011 in Madagascar meant it was the first time the national team had missed out on direct qualification for an Olympic Games in 20 years.

“We are going to Caracas with the same spirit that characterizes the Angolan national team, which is playing at a high level, fighting for every possession and never giving up,” said Guimarães, a former international player himself.

“I keep saying that our perimeter shooters will have an important role in our attempt to qualify for the Olympics, but so will our big men in the paint.”

FYROM showed at last summer’s EuroBasket in Lithuania that they are going to be tough opposition for any side they come up against.

They surprised the tournament hosts in the Quarter-Finals before falling to eventual champions Spain and then Russia in the bronze-medal game.

“They finished fourth at last year’s EuroBasket,” Guimarães said.

“Does it mean anything?

“To me, yes it does.

“They are a good team that we are looking forward to facing.

“Their quotient of competiveness is quite high and we are working to equal them.”

Angola have the highest spot in the FIBA World Rankings of the three Group D sides at 15th.

New Zealand are 18th and FYROM are 33rd.

“We cannot relax because of our ranking,” Guimarães said.

“We are above our OQT opponents in the FIBA World Rankings and we must work even harder to keep our world status.”

Angola are to travel to São Paulo, Brazil, after a two-week training camp in Spain.

They are expected to arrive in Caracas for the OQT on 24 June.

At the event, which tips off on 2 July, three places are available for the 2012 Olympic Games.

FIBA