Tunisians seek to dominate club competition

SHEFFIELD (Julio Chitunda's African Message) - Starting today and over the course of the next nine days, Angolan basketball will be put to the test in the Moroccan capital of Rabat, as the 12-team African Clubs Championship gets underway.

The Angolans, represented by three clubs, face stiff competitions in the shape of nine teams from seven other countries.

At stake is Angola's dominance, which Tunisia will look to end, in similar fashion to last summer's FIBA Africa Championship where they beat the odds - and the favourites - to take their first-ever continental crown.

The Tunisians, said Etoile Sahel head coach Dragan Petricevic, want to make history.

The Angolan champions aim to win all games, warned Petro de Luanda shotcaller Alberto Babo. They will have to do so with a new feeling as they come into the tournament as vice-champions of the continent.

Their most successful club, defending champions Primeiro de Agosto, secured a place in the tournament thanks to a wild card, after finishing third in the zone 6 of the qualification played in Johannesburg last month and mostly dominated by the Angolans. Petro de Luanda finished top of that group while Recreativo do Libolo came second.

Meanwhile, Moroccan side AS Sale has not just been successful to host the tournament. They are looking to accomplish great things. The signings of Cameroon national team head coach Lazare Adingono as well as Cameroonian players Parfait Bitee and Christian Bayang speak volumes as to their high hopes.

The Angolans arrive in Rabat represented by 12 international players - eight of whom played in the continental championship in Madagascar last August. 

Primeiro de Agosto has the largest number of internationals, with seven; Petro de Luanda has three, while Recreativo do Libolo brings Abdel Moussa Boukar and Olimpio Cipriano, the most controversial absence from the Angolan squad at AfroBasket 2011 and perhaps its best current player.

Primeiro de Agosto's six continental titles did not guarantee a successful domestic campaign last season after it finished fourth in the Angolan league, its worst campaign ever. The club and then coach Luis Magalhaes parted ways.

In Luanda, perplexity and surprise mounted around fans, after the well-established club finished behind Inter de Luanda, a club whose future in the league this season is still unclear due to budget issues.

Primeiro de Agosto's board decided it was time to restore its winning tradition, and offered a two-year contract  to tactician Mario Palma, who is still in charge of Portugal national team.

Palma, who worked for the club in the past, helped Primeiro de Agosto to win the African Clubs Championship on four occasions and also won six national championships before leaving the country to take over the reins of Jordan's national team in 2006.

One thing the Tunisians cannot be accused of lacking is an ambition to dominate the African basketball. Their convincing win over Angola in the Final of AfroBasket 2011 to automatically qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games bears testament to that.

Now, the Tunisians want to conquer the African Clubs Championship, something that none of its teams has ever won.

Tunisian champions Etoile du Sahel, currently undefeated after seven games in the national league, may be the Angolans' main problem.

To make sure the basketball fever in the country carries on, Etoile du Sahel signed three Tunisian internationals - Morouan Kechrid, Mohamad Hadidane and Radhouane Slimane - to join Macram Ben Romdhane and Ziedi Toumi.

To surround those five in the best way possible, the club's board signed Bosnian coach Dragan Petricevic, Montenegrin centre Ersid Ljuca and American guard Willie Kemp, who lined up with Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose at the University of Memphis.

In a conversation with fiba.com, Petricevic, signed from Romanian side BC Timisoara, said: "One thing I am sure of is that we are not favourites.

"We are just a team who play good basketball, and who will try to make history."

Etoile du Sahel finished top of zone 1 qualification ahead of Libyan side Al Ahly Benghazi and Moroccan outfit Chabab Rif Al Hoceima.

Petricevic believes he can make his new employers proud: "I am pleased to be working with a great generation of Tunisian players, who may give many joys to fans back home.

"We respect all teams, we don't want to underestimate any opponent, but we want to be involved in the decision of this title.

"Surprises happen, and we are well aware of it.

"No, disrespect, but it is not time to speak about the Angolan teams. When we face those teams, then we can speak about it.

 "I am here to give my contribution.  

"We'll have five Tunisian internationals, which is a good thing, but it does not guarantee success. We have to play well, he added.

In Luanda, as he prepared to make his way to Rabat, Recreativo do Libolo coach Raul Duarte said: "We'll play to win each game one at a time. If we make it to the final, we surely will fight to win the tournament.

"We are aware that it will not be easy because the other teams are very tough to beat."

Petro de Luanda's Babo added: My team's aim is to win all games and tournaments we are involved in. I think our opponents think exactly the same; we just want to worry about ourselves.

12-team list for African Clubs Championship:
AS Sale and Chabab Rif Al Hoceima (both from Morocco); Union Bank and Royal Hoopers (both from Nigeria); Al Ahly Benghazi (Libya); AS Douane (Senegal); Etoile Sahel (Tunisia); BC Mazembe (DR Congo); Urunani (Burundi); Petro de Luanda, Recreativo do Libolo and Primeiro de Agosto (all three from Angola).

Julio Chitunda

FIBA

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