ANG – Lutonda brings the curtain down

LUANDA (FIBA) - His playing career lasted a very long time but as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

And so it has for Miguel Lutonda, a point guard who helped Angola capture three Afrobasket titles and was a fierce competitor at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, and the 2002, 2006 and 2010 FIBA World Championships.

The veteran point guard has decided to retire.

'The General' will be remembered for many a great outing with Angola, but perhaps his finest hour came at Afrobasket 2001 in Morocco.

Angola feared their star might be hurt for the title game against Algeria but he recovered in time to lead them to a 78-68 victory.

Lutonda was then named as the Afrobasket MVP.

Looking back at that tournament in an interview with the Jornal de Angola, Lutonda said: "There were moments of bravery, when I had to go draw on 'supernatural' powers to overcome the injury that suddenly appeared on the eve of the Final."

Some would argue that his ability to play the game for such a long time and still be regarded as one of Angola's finest was his biggest accomplishment.

At 34 years of age and against eventual gold medalists Spain at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan, Lutonda had 18 points.

Angola made a run to the Eight-Finals that year and lost to France in a very tight game, 68-62.

What spoke volumes about Lutonda is that Angola included him, at the age of 38, in their squad for the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey and he averaged 9.3 points per game.

If age was supposed to be a problem, it wasn’t.

“When one has willpower, one can overcome obstacles,” Lutonda said.

In their vital 92-88 win over Germany in Kayseri, Turkey, that punched the Angolans' ticket for a spot in the Eight-Finals, Lutonda played 27 minutes and hit both of his three-balls en route to 13 points.

Lutonda might have gone on even longer as a player, but his 2011-12 campaign with Primo de Agosto has proved to be his last.

"My mission was accomplished as a player," he said.

"I can leave basketball with my head held high, knowing that I greatly helped clubs and the national team and saw aims achieved."

FIBA