Tunisians heading to Turin OQT inspired by London Olympics

TUNIS (2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments) - Tunisian stars Makram Ben Romdhane and Salah Mejri insist they should not be ruled out from the race to clinch a ticket for the Rio 2016 Games.

Tunisia will play in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQT) in Turin, Italy, in a bid to reach the Olympics for the second consecutive time.

Although Ben Romdhane and Mejri - two of the most influential Tunisian players - believe the OQT can be difficult, they look to be encouraged by their campaign at London 2012, where they faced some of the best teams in the world.

Tunisia have been drawn in Group B along with hosts Italy and Croatia. And to keep their Olympics aspirations alive the North Africans would need to win at least one Group Phase game to advance to the semifinals.

Talking to FIBA.com from Tunis, Ben Romdhane said: "We have faced Croatia before at the [2010] FIBA Basketball World Cup. We lost but we know reasonably well what to expect from them. Italy will probably be the toughest in the group. Those two teams have NBA and Euroleague players, which is major boost for them.

We know we are not the strongest team in the group but they are going need to beat us first. At the London Olympics we lost to France by single digits, and we played really well against Lithuania and Argentina. We just need to go there and compete the same way. Who knows what can happen? - Ben Romdhane

Tunisia (TUN)

Over the last six years, Tunisia have entered the international basketball conversation after winning their first-ever continental championship in 2011. Last summer they finished third at AfroBasket 2015 on home soil and as result remain the second highest ranked African team.

For Ben Romdhane, the "[OQT] will be a chance for the world to see the good quality and talent of Tunisian basketball. We are going to try our best. In basketball anything is possible if you work hard. We are going to hold training camps in Europe before the tournament, and I am sure the preparation will make us stronger. I am looking forward to get there and face Italy and Croatia."

Meanwhile, Mejri, who is in his first NBA season with the Dallas Mavericks, recalled their combative spirit and pledged to compete.

"We are in a tough group, and facing the host country will not be an easy task. We are seen as outsiders and that could help us upset other two teams in the group, jut like Nigeria did back in 2012," he said.

If we prepare well and play hard, we can to make it to the Semi-Finals. Then, anything can happen. - Mejri

FIBA