MOZ - Deo hoping for injection of youth in NT

MAPUTO (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament For Women) - Mozambique missed out on reaching the podium at the Afrobasket 2011 Women in Mali in October, but their youngest player Leia Tania Dongue made a significant impact.

The 20-year-old proved to be a quick study in the art of playing at the elite level on the continent, averaging double-doubles in six games.
Dongue poured in 14 points per contest and became the top rebounder of the event with an average of 10.

The power forward Dongue won admiration from her colleagues, coaches and fans.

Teammate Deolinda Ngulela, when asked about the impact Dongue had made on the Afrobasket, told FIBA.com: “Leia had an outstanding performance, but she’s able to do even better. She did not play at her highest potential.

“She is a fantastic player who has shown how great she can become in the future.”

Both will line up for Mozambique’s top team of the moment , Liga Muçulmana, when the national championship tips-off later this month in the Zambezia region.

And there will be a new team to capture the title since last year’s champions, Desportivo de Maputo, failed to qualify for the 10-team national championship.

The national championship will bring together the champions and runners-up of the regional championships, and will put most of Mozambique national team players on display.

The 30-year-old Ngulela, who saw more minutes than any other Mozambican player at the Afrobasket (26 per game), said: “The national championship will be the beginning of our preparation for the (FIBA) Olympic Qualifying Tournament (for Women).”

That’s right, Mozambique will be playing in the OQT in Turkey because silver medalists Senegal withdrew.

“It will be an experience for us to improve our game. It will be a valuable experience for us,” Ngulela said.

“We need to inject new talent in order to keep the team more balanced. This is our main concern.”

Ngulela, a point guard who played American college basketball for the Augusta State Jaguars, is focused on the five places on offer for London.

“We will be competing in order to win games, but we recognize it will be tough,” she said.

“Our opponents have more competition than we do. In order to reduce this gap, we should carry on working just after the national team finishes,” Ngulela said.

Ngulela, also known as Deo, shortened from Deolinda, said the African game has more parity now than it used to.

Mali failed to make to the Afrobasket 2011 Final as the host nation, and powerhouse Senegal lost to Angola in the Final.

“Nowadays more teams are able to win the African title, unlike a couple of years ago,” Ngulela said.

Asked to describe her potential as a player, Deo said: “My strong point is the ability to read the game. I reckon that I still have a lot of work to do on my long-range shooting, too.

“As a team we need to bring in some good young players, as Angola has now.”

FIBA