Angola's Morais excited to face world's best for first time since 2010

LUANDA (Angola) - Minutes after Angola were drawn in Group D against Serbia, Philippines and Italy, Carlos Morais expressed joy for the prospect of playing against some of the best teams in the world.

The 33-year-old shooting guard who sat out the last edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2014 due to an injury hope for a better luck this time around.

"I feel excited and motivated to play against the best teams in the world once again," the two-time World Cup participant said to FIBA.basketball.

"I can’t wait to get started in China. This is the feeling from most members of our team because we look forward to showing the world the evolution of Angola basketball in recent years."

The former African champions, who qualified for the China 2019 showpiece by finishing second in Group E of the African Qualifiers with a 9-3 mark, faced Serbia three years ago at the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade.  

 
"Serbia is a very strong and balanced team," Morais admitted. "Our last game against Serbia wasn’t as good as we planned. I haven't followed Serbia’s qualifying campaign, but at first glance, they are the strongest team in our group."

They last faced Italy at 1990 World Cup in Argentina, but have never played the Philippines.  Morais feels they can do better than his country did in an 86-78 defeat to Italy 28 years ago.

“Italy is highly-motivated, especially after qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in years. But if we prepare the team well, I am sure we can advance out of the Group Phase."

Morais has recently joined Angolan side Petro Atletico de Luanda from Italian outfit Sienna. He shared his thoughts on their Group D opponents: “Italian basketball is very physical, and somehow, very similar to Angolan basketball. They have good players in top leagues around the world."

Asked to describe the Angolan team who experienced highs and lows during the African Qualifiers - registering defeats to Morocco, DR Congo and Tunisia - Morais insisted they made significant progress since then.

"We just need to build on that improvement in order to go to the World Cup and play at the highest level," he noted.

"I CAN'T WAIT TO GET STARTED IN CHINA. THIS IS THE FEELING FROM MOST MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM BECAUSE WE LOOK FORWARD TO SHOWING THE WORLD THE EVOLUTION OF ANGOLA BASKETBALL IN RECENT YEARS."- Morais

As one of the most experienced player on the Angolan team, Morais warned about their opponents strongest points: “World Cup teams tend to bring tall and athletic players, and we need to make sure that we improve our game in the painted area also.

"We have a number of young players (Valdir Manuel, Bruno Fernando and Silvio de Sousa) currently developing and playing outside of Angola. If those guys can join us, we’ll have a good team to compete against any in China," he added.

FIBA