SEN - Gaye pins hopes on team ethic

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DAKAR (FIBA World Championship) - Senegal coach Moustapha Gaye has made collective spirit and team work his top priorities for Senegal's chances of success at the FIBA World Championship.

Senegal qualified for the tournament after a second-place finish at the FIBA Africa Championship final last summer.

They will line up in Group D alongside China, America, Italy, Puerto Rico and Slovenia, who are their first opponents on August 19. And according to Gaye, the Senegalese will be looking to belie their underdog status.

"We are a little country which tries to do its best with little experience," said the coach, who replaced the sacked Abdou N'Diaye just two weeks ago.

"We don't have any set objective for the FIBA World Championship, but on the eve of the tournament we must be a team capable of representing Senegal with dignity."

Senegal`s last-gasp 75-74 win over top European side Lithuania in their final match of the Strasbourg international tournament on Sunday was a boost after back-to-back defeats.

Beaten 95-58 by France on Friday and then 57-53 by China the following day, Gaye's depleted team showed their mettle against the Lithuanians.

Missing were NBA stars Pape Saw (Toronto Raptors) and Boniface N'Dong (Los Angeles Clippers) through injury, as well as Desagana Diop (Dallas Mavericks), who pulled out of the tournament after the sacking of N'Diaye.

"I don't want to read too much into it," said Gaye. "We did play well after gradually improving our level throughout the tournament, but we are far from being ready for the FIBA World Championship.

"The level of our game and spirit must improve further. I repeat: the most important thing is to be ready on time."

The narrow 57-53 loss to a dangerous if weakened China was also a good sign of Senegal's growing confidence ahead of the two teams` meeting on August 23.

"We did not pretend we could win in Strasbourg," added Gaye. "But it was important to come and play this tournament. Basketball is a question of strategy.

"China now have an idea of the way we play, but we have an idea of the way they play too.

"Like us they have not yet reached top form and are deprived of key players. They played without Yao Ming, but we played without a few key players too. They are also in the process of building a competitive side."

Gaye admitted the Chinese player who impressed him the most was centre Wang Zhizhi, who injured his left knee during China's loss to France on the last day of the tournament.

He will be out of action for three weeks, but should be back on track for the start of the FIBA World Championship.

"Wang Zhizhi is a really good player and the number 11 (Ji Jianlian) too," noted Gaye. "But what interested me the most was to see how China played as a team, not so much the individuals within the team."

On top of building a competitive side, Gaye has also had to get used to his sudden elevation to head coach.

Gaye was given the reins of the national team shortly before the start of the Strasbourg event on July 21, when the Senegalese Sports Ministry decided to sack Abdou N'Diaye for "abandoning his position" after he suffered an Achilles tendon injury in May.

He added: "It's been a difficult time for us because I found out I was taking over from Abdou only 48 hours before we came to Strasbourg.

"The preparation in that sense has been disturbed greatly, but we know what we have to do."

Senegal will play two other tournaments in Lithuania and Abidjan, where they will face the Ivory Coast and Nigeria before the FIBA World Championship tips off on August 19.

Isabelle Rondeau
PA Sport, Exclusively for FIBA.com