For Gilas Pilipinas’ marketing campaign within the 2023 FIBA World Cup, GMA News Online related with Milos Jovanovic, a veteran Serbian sportswriter with an curiosity in Philippine basketball, to assist break issues down from an outdoor perspective. Read his previews of the Philippines-Dominican Republic sport right here and the Philippines-Italy sport right here.
There’s solely few certainties in life. Americans like to speak about “dying and taxes“ – the extra optimistically inclined amongst us, nonetheless, often resort to some milder types of metaphor.
So you possibly can say that grass is inexperienced and the skies are blue, and that, certainly, seawater tastes salty. And for the longest time, you possibly can additionally say that Angola guidelines African basketball, and you wouldn’t be flawed as effectively.
Ever since reaching independence within the mid-seventies, Angolans took to basketball as their sport of fancy. The Lusophone South-Western African nation turned a FIBA member again in 1979, and instantly took their native continent by storm. Starting from 1983, the Black Antelopes reeled off a powerful streak of seventeen consecutive medal finishes on the FIBA Afrobasket – a fearsome feat, made much more spectacular by the truth that out of these seventeeen medals, eleven shone brightest. Between 1989 and 2015, Afrobasket gold has evaded Angolans solely 3 times – in Senegal 1997, Madagascar 2011 and Tunisia 2015, the place they gained one bronze and two silvers respectively.
(Angola on the FIBA World Cup African Qualifiers. Photo: fiba.basketball)
But occasions, they’re a-changin’ as Bob Dylan as soon as reminded us. The Angolan medal prepare derailed in 2017 with a seventh place end, and 4 years later within the Rwandan capital of Kigali they couldn’t make it out of quarterfinals both. Africa now boasts some new basketball heroes, and this World Cup is not any distinction – the Far East will see a pair of debutants hailing from the African shores, notably Cape Verde and South Sudan. However, the Angolans will not be prepared to hold it up but – following a succesful qualifying marketing campaign, which noticed them brush off the likes of Nigeria, the previous African powerhouse will function of their ninth summit of the world’s elite.
The Angolans are not any strangers to Gilas. The two groups exchanged pleasantries on the final World Cup held in China 4 years in the past, and it was a thriller – after CJ Perez nailed a key triple to make it 73-73 on the finish of regulation, it took additional 5 minutes for the Africans to subdue the pesky Filipinos who battled to the very finish. But as we famous above, this was a special Angola group to the one which is able to enterprise into Manila in search of a repeat of that tussle in Foshan.
Back in 2019, the squad was led by Yanick Moreira, Carlos Morais, and the late Reggie Moore, who sadly handed away this June. The veteran group, which was coached by the American bench boss Will Voigt, nonetheless had a number of the Afrobasket-winning sheen and that proved sufficient.
All of this, nonetheless, is now previous tense. The new man behind the wheel is the skilled Spanish tactician Pep Claros, and he has overseen a generational shift which ought to look to propel Angola again into the higher echelons of African hoops. This World Cup, in a manner, is a baptism of fireside for a lot of within the squad – a reality apparent from the mere look upon the roster, which options only a few holdovers from the Chinese expedition talked about above.
(Bruno Fernando of Angola. Photo: fiba.basketball)
For this new look Angola, all of it begins and ends with Bruno Fernando. The Luanda-born 6’10“ middle caught the attention of American scouts whereas enjoying for his nationwide group U-17 choice – this result in him spending some years in the highschool, and subsequently, the NCAA system, leading to a 2nd spherical choice by the Philadelphia 76ers on the 2019 NBA draft. Since then, he frolicked with Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics and the Houston Rockets, primarily logging minutes because the hustle-energy man coming off the bench. Expect Claros to make use of him as a lane intimidator and rim protector on the protection – on the opposite aspect of court docket, he’ll function closely in choose and rolls, in addition to the top goal of quite a few lob passes going his manner.
Fernando would possibly seize the headlines, however he’s not the one one with the load of expectations on his shoulders. Jilson Bango, who lead his German outfit Lowen Braunschweig in rebounding, loved a stellar qualifying marketing campaign and is one other greater than succesful publish choice in Claros’ system. Much like Fernando, he stands at 6’10“, and might leap with the perfect of them. Silvio Sousa is one other strong alternative down low – the previous U18 Afrobasket MVP has simply accomplished his first skilled season in France, and can go well with up for the Greek aspect Aris subsequent yr. Between Fernando, Bango, and Sousa, Angola is hardly starved for paint presence, particularly if we additionally account for the home-based Teotonio Do, who contributed considerably within the qualifiers, and Kevin Kokila, who plies his commerce within the French LNB.
(Jilson Bango of Angola. Photo: fiba.basketball)
The choices, nonetheless, begin to unfold a bit thinner as soon as we transfer away from the basket. The main pair of level guards, Childe Dundao and Gerson Domingos, break up the organizing duties throughout the quals – neither stands taller than six foot, and neither can declare any notable overseas expertise, each enjoying for Petro de Luanda within the Angolan Unitel Basket league. Of the duo, Domingos is a extra seasoned choice, having already represented his nation on the earlier World Cup. Dundao, who’s listed at mere 5’6“, will certainly dazzle together with his pace and handles, trying to achieve tempo benefit over his adversaries. Dimitri Maconda is an alternative choice, particularly if the peak of the aforementioned pair begins working towards them.
What stays from the roster is a blended bag. Forwards Antonio Monteiro and Eduardo Francisco play for the Portuguese giants Sporting and Benfica, and may be odds-on to make the ultimate roster minimize but to be introduced on the time of writing. The two-guard place options an open battle between Milton Valente, Gerson Lukeny, Helder Neto and Danilson Francisco, and it was Valente, the 6’4“ shooter enjoying for the Desportivo 1. de Agosto, who began the final two aggressive video games. Whether he retains the sting he gained there stays to be seen.
While the Angolan bigs look scary on paper, the fortunes of this group will rely largely from the guards. Neither Fernando, nor Bango or Sousa are elite shooters, and they’re going to require some court-spreading created by the backline. Unluckily for them, it is a sore spot for the group – Angola shot mere 27.8% from the three-point vary within the quals, failing to seek out the underside of the web from distance on the common foundation. Without the artillery assist, defenses will shortly collapse on the Black Antelopes frontline, severely impacting their gameplan. And how the guards deal with defensive chores versus the bigger opposition is one other query mark.
Gilas faces off towards the African squad within the second sport of the group phases. By then, the groups will vacate the mammoth Philippine Arena in Bulacan and transfer to the pleasant confines of Araneta Coliseum, venue which already noticed some World Cup motion again in 1978.
Depending on the result of the primary tie versus the Dominicans, this might effectively be a do-or-die sport for the group Pilipinas. Alternatively, it may be the sport which propels them to the ultimate sixteen – and if the celebs align, this may additionally end in an oh-so-precious Olympic berth, which has been avoiding the hoops-crazy nation for half a century now.
But allow us to not get carried away an excessive amount of. For Coach Chot Reyes, Jordan Clakrson, and the remainder of the group, it will likely be one step on the time. One win out of the primary two encounters will arrange a frenzied remaining sport versus Italy, the place something is feasible. Here’s to hope, then – and a whole lot of three pointers.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
