Ndikumana: "Burundi could compete against Africa's best"
KAMPALA - Regarded as one of the finest players in the East Africa region, Burundi’s Landry Ndikumana wishes his country could compete against Africa’s juggernaut.
KAMPALA - Regarded as one of the finest players in the East Africa region, Burundi's Landry Ndikumana wishes his country could compete against Africa's juggernaut.
Although the tiny landlocked country is yet to participate in a major continental competition, Ndikumana believes it's not for lack of talent.
After being named FIBA Africa Champions Cup Zone 5 MVP on two occasions (2013 and 2014), the 1.98m forward joined Uganda champions City Oilers from Burundi's Urunani two years ago.
City Oil will have the services, for the first time, of Landry Ndikumana, the Zone V MVP after he was cleared by FUBA
— Mujuni Raymond (@qataharraymond) May 22, 2015
The move not only gave Ndikumana a chance of featuring in a tougher league, but also offered the 21-year-old an opportunity of showing off his talent in last month's FIBA Africa Champions Cup in Cairo, Egypt.
Ndikumana - the only Burundian in the competition - averaged 5.6 points and 7 rebounds as the Oilers returned home with a 1-4 record.
He told FIBA.com that while Burundi might not compete for a place in this year's FIBA AfroBasket in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, the future does look optimistic as he calls on support to promote the popularity of the game in the country.
Président @pnkurunziza assiste au stade de #Buye match de Basket-ball Urunani Vs Imbeya (71-39) trophée pour Urunani pic.twitter.com/kPUfIOEs87
— jean-claude nshimiri (@Claudenshim) October 9, 2016
"We have talented players in our country but we lack the necessary funding and coaching," he explained. "With a better organisation, we could compete with other countries on the continent.
"I do not believe the participation in the FIBA AfroBasket 2017 is on the agenda. We still don't have the right organisation to feature in such a big competition."
Whether Burundi enters the FIBA Africa Zone 5 qualifiers or not, the most importance thing, Ndikumana says, is "to give the best" for his club.
"If the observers think I'm a good rebounder, I accept it as a compliment and I will continue to follow the instructions of my coaches in order to be more efficient offensively and improve the other aspects of my game."
Reviewing City Oilers campaign in Cairo, Ndikumana added: "There were very good teams and excellent players in that competition. And that means we still have some work to be done.
"This was our first participation and playing against teams that have competed at the top level for more than ten years was not easy. We will continue to work and improve what did not work, especially the shooting."
FIBA