TUN - Ben Romdhane goes from obscurity to stardom

TUNIS (Olympics) - Macram Ben Romdhane has been a hidden gem in Tunisian basketball.

In two years, the 22-year-old power forward has gone from a player rarely used by Tunisia coach Adel Tlatli to the leading scorer of the national team that won this year's Afrobasket in Madagascar to qualify for the London Games.

At the Afrobasket 2009 in Libya, Ben Romdhane played just 16 minutes in three games, averaging two points.

Tlatli's men captured a bronze medal at the event after an 83-68 victory over Cameroon.

The following summer, at the FIBA World Championship in Turkey, the 2.04m power forward played in four games and underlined his potential by averaging 12 points.

On the fourth day of the World Championship, Ben Romdhane, having not started a single game at the tournament, stepped in and had a game-high 23 points against Croatia.

Things got better.

This summer, he was the leading points man, averaging 12.7 per game, despite having started only one of the seven games, against Central African Republic.

Ben Romdhane completed his journey from anonymity to stardom in Madagascar.

"I have been working very hard throughout these years, and I believe I can do even better," Ben Romdhane said to FIBA.com.

"I want more."

In their 60-57 Afrobasket Semi-Final triumph over Ivory Coast, Ben Romdhane had 15 points, 10 rebounds and two steals.

Tunisia then secured a place at the London Games after beating Angola 67-56 in the Afrobasket gold medal game.

"It was an historic victory against Angola," Ben Romdhane said.

"I want to carry on improving and help my national team as much as I can.

"We were really disappointed with that defeat (to Angola) in the Semi-Final [Libya], but our team's hard work paid off.

In the summer, Tunisia claimed gold with seven wins in as many games.

When asked about the mindset of the team before the Afrobasket, Ben Romdhane spoke of the "seriousness that we went to Madagascar" with.

"We had a valuable preparation; both in the USA and Europe, and the result could have not been better," he said.

"We are very pleased with what we did in Madagascar.

"Now we are the African champions, we are at the top level of the basketball on the continent.

"We can say that 20 years ago, we were an average African team, but now we are at the level of Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon and Angola.

"At the Afrobasket 2013 [to be staged in Ivory Coast], we will play to defend our title, although we may have new faces coming in.

"I think that three or four players may retire, but there are plenty of young players ready to join the national team."

How does a team that managed a single podium position in the last decade turn into a continental powerhouse in just two years?

"Our participation in the World Championship 2010 helped us a lot," Ben Romdhane said.

"Personally, I became more confident, and willing to face those teams again.

"When you face teams like the USA, you think it is a chance to prove how good your game is."

These are very important times for Tunisia, which has undergone a political revolution in the past year.

With that in mind, Ben Romdhane says that Tunisia's first Olympic Games is "a gift for all Tunisian people."

So far, the new African champions are among eight teams to have secured a place in London.

He hopes this sort of success in basketball continues.

"So often, other sports such as handball, volleyball and football have represented Tunisia at the Olympics, and people kept asking why basketball was not there," he said.

"Now we have the answer, and we want to become regulars.

"As a team, we have worked very hard to be in London 2012."

The chance to go up against teams like European champions Spain and world champions USA is exactly what Ben Romdhane and his comrades want.

"I don't know," he said. "We may not win a game against Spain or (EuroBasket silver medalists) France, but I am sure people will be delighted to watch our game.

"We work together for whole game, and it will be fun."

FIBA