Occansey confident in Cote d'Ivoire chances at AfroBasket 2015
ABIDJAN (AfroBasket 2015) – Cote d'Ivoire's recently appointed head coach Hugues Occansey is confident his team can achieve great things at AfroBasket 2015
ABIDJAN (AfroBasket 2015) – Cote d'Ivoire's recently appointed head coach Hugues Occansey is confident his team can achieve great things at AfroBasket 2015.
That is the main message he delivered during a press conference held on Wednesday in the country's capital Abidjan.
"The squad has great potential to achieve huge performance this summer," Occansey said.
The 48-old year-old tactician will hold his first training session on Thursday with the players already present in Abidjan from the 27-strong preliminary squad he announced late last month.
Even if Cote d'Ivoire have good players, Occansey admits that his main task is to "build a team, rather than rely on individual skills."
Questioned on his target for AfroBasket 2015, the former French international replied: "I am eyeing a spot for the 2016 Olympic Games."
However, Occansey recognises that his team has to improve and be ready for the tip off of the 16-team tournament.
To this end, Cote d'Ivoire will face Mali in two warm-up games on 15 and 16 July at Abidjan's Palais des Sports.
They will then leave for the second part of their camp scheduled for 19 July-8 August in France.
The final part of Cote d'Ivoire's preparations will take place from 9-16 August in Madrid, Spain where the team will compete in a five-team tournament which also includes Nigeria, Angola, Mozambique and a select team from the USA.
Cote d'Ivoire fell short of reaching the podium at AfroBasket 2013 on home soil, following a heartbreaking 57-56 loss against Senegal in the Third-Place Game.
Our main asset is that we have at least two good players at each position. All of them must battle for a place in the final 12-player final squad.-Occansey
"To make a great impact in Tunisia, the players should avoid the mistakes they did in 2013. They have to follow all the group rules and be mentally strong," Occansey warned.
Cote d'Ivoire will open their AfroBasket campaign on 20 August against Cape Verde before squaring off Algeria and Zimbabwe.
AfroBasket 2015 takes place from 19-30 August in the Tunisian cities of Nabeul and Tunis and serves as qualifiers for the Rio Games.
The winner will automatically qualify for next year's Olympic Basketball Tournament.
The teams that finish second and third will earn the right to compete in the 12-team FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT).
FIBA