"The Angolan Championships"

[by Kristian Santiago] - Yes you read right, I officially declare the formerly African Championships to be renamed the Angolan Championships....you are asking why ? Well, since 1989 (with a sole exception in 1997 when hosts Senegal won the
championship) Angola is set to win all major competitions on the continent. Why not rename the qualifier for either the World Championships or the Olympics after the country that has won it once more a few week ago without facing any problems during the competition. Congratulations are going out to the Angolans who deserved the title, although it's getting almost boring to me to follow your success every two years...I need a thrill...but where should it come from? Let's take a look at the recently concluded Championships and the teams that were supposed to make them more interesting to such "basketball-gourmets" like I probably am (I am one of those guys consequently cheering for the underdogs , so this is probably more the reason why I wasn't all into Angola's dominance then being such a gourmet basketball-wise I guess).

The Contenders:

When I first heard of Angola being the host to the most important basketball tourney on the continent, I knew this would be becoming difficult to other dominant basketball countries in Africa to finish first which meant to be qualified for the Olympics. Then again, Senegal put out a plan for preperations which looked fairly impressing to me with stages in France, the United States , Tunisia and even Italy. What was set to be a great preperation turned into be a disaster , with losses in test matches as well as injuries , missing visas ,fights for premiums .....you name it. The "Lions" who were under the tutelage of the Mavericks-Scout Amadou Gall Fall even lost it's coach Sam Vincent few days before the begin of the tournament, the end of the story was that Senegal finished ninth.It's the worst result for the West Africans and the local press is already calling for changes.

Another team that has a deep pool of talent but was denied a proper preperation mainly due to financial straights was Nigeria. They brought in most of the players that played in the All Africa Games (including "veteran" Olumide Oyedeji) and a few more players based in the U.S. but was far from having a deep roster like in Japan before. The "Tigers" finished the tourney in fifth place after a surprising loss to underdogs Cape Verde. I was certainly disappointed to see my friend Olu having another bad outcome with the national team after not playing with them in Japan thanks to coach Sam Vincent (yes the same one that was supposed to coach the Senegalese and suddenly left).

The Underdogs:

I never expected such a good outcome for the Cape Verdians although the players on the roster know each other for some time and the fact that they dont have any big stars on the team but the team as the star, makes them a difficult opponent for ambitious teams such as Nigeria. A bit undersized, the islanders showed a big heart and came out with a chance to join the Olympics: Rodrigo Mascarenhas , Marques Houtman , Mario Correia and the others displayed great team-oriented basketball which eventually led them to the semis and even got them the third place over favourites Egypt. The surprise moment eventually gone when they are heading to the Olympic qualifiying tournament , the Cape Verdians will be hoping that their players gain more experience in pro ball in the next time. Marques Houtman already signed in Angola while I bet Tony Barros should be heading to Europe soon.

Hey, who came in second behind the hosts ? The almost "Indomitable Lions" from Cameroon. My man Lazare Adingono did a great job, putting a strong and well balanced team together with hungry players willing to win.His biggest move ? He brought in Luc Mbah A Moute from UCLA and added him to other touted pro ballers from Europe as well as youg guns like 20 year-old Christian Bayang ( of BEAC Yaounde) who had also a big tournament. I remember Lazare complaining about the financial situation and the inability of the officials in Cameroon to field a strong team for qualifiers if they attended them at all. Guess know someone can imagine how much work it was to get this team together and to reach the finals in this year's strong competition. Knocking out the Ivory Cost and Egypt on the way to the finals isn't easy especially with a team that didnt play any other international games before. Congrats for getting so far, hopefully we can see the Lions in Beijing as well.

The Bottom:

The Lone Star stayed alone...my Liberian friends lost once again all games even if they were close to a win against the Democratic Republic of Congo in the end. I feel sorry for their head coach Allen Jallah who really tried to convince officials in his country to fly in players that could have made the difference. Unfortunately, maybe due to inexperience, inability or money issues , it wasn't working out for them and Liberia had to play the championships without any pro ball players and was routed badly in most of their games.

The "Simbas" from the DR of Congo had height but not the class to compete with the "big" ones in Angola and went home with two wins over poor Liberia. It would be interesting to see Liberia and the DR of Congo if they would have strengthens their rosters with foreign-based players and with the right preperation but this won't probably happen anytime soon I guess, unless someone like Dikembe Mutombo steps in and puts something together.

The Champions

They won it in style , they won it once more and they will probably win it in the future....the only African nation that has a serious knack for basketball deserved it more then ever. When you thought Angola will be done because older players retired during the last years, you were wrong. Every two years they are haing new faces on the team and it looks like they know how to "produce" a certain type of player that perfectly fits in the national team and it belongings. Angola second team celebtrated the win of the All Africa Games in Algeria earlier and the first team took the trophy at home against Cameroon. Preparing in Spain was the key, they did well in their tests and players know and play together for years now, mostly in their domestic league which is comprimised of only a handful teams.Joaquim Gomes was awarded the MVP trophy , one of the very few Angolans that played in the U.S. and Europe before but decided to play at home again after all. I remember him from his time in Cologne, a friendly player that hold his own in the league, guess he would be a nice add to a lot of teams in Europe right now. I bet Angola is going to have another strong outing in Beihing after their stint in Japan proved to be a wake-up call to some nations as they wont underestimate the talent from the so called black continent anymore. Especially if the World Championships will be hosted by the Angolans.....yes they are keen on hosting this tournament too....lets wait and see, this could become another step forward to international recognition of the sports in Africa and would be another huge push forward for people here to play the game although dominant football is already going to make a big mark with the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Conclusion:

Angola was probably the best host ever in the history of the African Championships , now with their qualification to the Olympics, the game of basketball should be the major sport in their country and their domestic league is the only real pro ball league on the whole continent nowadays. Ryan Gomes, who plays in the NBA and is of Cape Verdian origin would be a great help for the tiny country to qualify for the Olympics but chances are rather small thanks to the European and American national teams that are the favourites to qualify for Beijing in the additional qualfiying tourney next year. Cameroon could use some additions to their team as well , maybe a center like Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje would fit the team , or another touted pro that is playing in the European leagues. Even if both teams won't make it to Beijing, they showed smaller countries that there is a certain chance to beat the supposedly bigger ones in tournaments, and that with a bit of professional structures and plannings , good results can be acomplished. So I will be crossing my fingers for Cape Verde and Cameroon next year , hpoing that they can get it done one more time !