Young guns Fernando, De Sousa named in Angola's experienced preliminary squad
LUANDA (Angola) - Bruno Fernando and Silvio De Sousa - two of Angola's promising stars - have been invited to training camp for next month's FIBA Basketball World Cup.
LUANDA (Angola) - Bruno Fernando and Silvio De Sousa - two of Angola's most prominent promising stars - have been invited to training camp for next month's FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Having not featured in the World Cup African Qualifiers, Fernando, De Sousa and Benvindo Quimbamba join fourteen players who helped the eleven-time African champions qualify to the China 2019 showdown on the back of a 9-3 mark.
According to the Angolan Basketball Federation, Will Voigt's team will start their World Cup 2019 preparations on Wednesday, July 24 in the capital Luanda.
| Angola's 17-player preliminary squad for FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 | |||
| Jose Antonio | Julio Afonso Assis | Olimpio Cipriano | Malick Cisse |
| Leandro Conceicao | Silvio De Sousa | Gerson Domingos | Bruno Fernando |
| Gerson Lukeny Goncalves | Hermenegildo Mbunga | Eduardo Mingas | Reggie Moore |
| Carlos Morais | Yanick Moreira | Leonel Paulo | Jone Pedro |
| Benvindo Quimbamba | |||
Fernando, who made his debut with the men's team at 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, has become the first Angolan to be selected by an NBA team in last month's draft. He played considerable minutes for the Atlanta Hawks in the 2019 Summer League.
De Sousa, who sat out most of last season due a NCAA eligibility ruling, is set to resume his collegiate career with the University of Kansas this year.
Meanwhile, this summer's World Cup in China won't be a novelty for five Angolans who featured in the tournament before including Morais (2006 and 2010), Mingas (2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014), Moreira (2014), Cipriano (2006, 2010 and 2014), Paulo (2010) and Moore (2014).
In order to advance to the Second Round of the 32-nation World Cup, Angola will need to finish in the top two places of Group D, which consists of Serbia, Italy and Philippines. In the Second Round they would join the top two teams from Group C (Spain, Iran, Puerto Rico and Tunisia) in Group J in Wuhan.
Angola will open their Group Phase campaign against title contenders Serbia on Saturday, August 31 in Foshan.
FIBA