BUR - Burkina Faso's high aims in AfroBasket 2013

ABIDJAN (AfroBasket/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Last summer, Burkina Faso's men's national team made the headlines after securing qualification for AfroBasket 2013 thanks to a two-tie triumph over Togo.

Team captain Jean Victor Traore was the mastermind of that historic moment as he led Burkina in scoring, but much to the dismay of their fans, he is not competing in Abidjan for alleged professional reasons.

His absence might affect the way Burkina progress in the tournament as they have been drawn in Group B alongside Rwanda, AfroBasket defending champions Tunisia and Morocco.

Head coach Jean Paul Rebatet - who counts more AfroBasket appearances than any other tactician in this year's event - is relying on a few new faces.

Both Texas Tech University forward Kader Tapsoba and Bluefield State College's Samuel Ouedraogo bring US college basketball experience to the debutant team that includes six home based players.

Tapsoba is a 2.08m who first represented his country with the U20 national team.

Whatever the result in the tournament, Tapsoba says, the players will relish the moment.

"We have got to see it as a first step in history. And I am very honoured to be back in this tournament and try to get basketball in our country forward," the 25-year-old told FIBA.com

While Burkina Faso is a young team with not much international experience, Tapsoba argues that "being a young team is not an excuse (not) to compete."

They take on Rwanda in Wednesday's Group B opener and will look to do their very best knowing that the door to the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup is not shut until they throw the towel.

"We are going there and aim high. Whatever happens, it happens," Tapsoba said.

"One step at time."

During their two months preparation, Rabatet's men worked on their chemistry as most players had never played together before.

They faced Central African Republic and Mali in France, and hosted a domestic tournament before travelling to Abidjan.

Tapsoba graduated with a degree in computer science this year, but he still has a year left in his college basketball career. He will return to Texas Tech for his masters and to play basketball.

As for a professional basketball career, he says it "crosses your mind one in a while, but first I'll finish my college career, and after that we’ll see."

For full and in-depth coverage of AfroBasket 2013, go to the official website http://abidjan2013.fibaafrica.com/.

FIBA