Dieng in, Sene out as Sarr sets Senegal roster
GUADALAJARA (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Senegal head coach Cheikh Sarr has kept Gorgui Dieng and cut Saer Sene along with three other players in finalising his team for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup
GUADALAJARA (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Senegal head coach Cheikh Sarr has kept Gorgui Dieng and cut Saer Sene along with three other players in finalising his team for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Dieng earned his place in the roster for the center position following an excellent rookie season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, while Sene was cut after missing all but three games of the 2013-14 campaign for French side Antibes because of a knee injury suffered last October.
Sene, who had interesting performances during the team's four-week preparations, led Senegal with team-high 6.7 rebounds per game at AfroBasket 2013.
Seven of the players who helped Senegal clinch the last spot for African teams in last summer's qualifier for Spain 2014 are on the team that will open play in Sevilla's Group B.
Sene, Louis Adams, Ibrahima Mbengue, Malick Gadiaga and the injured Malick Ndiaye have been left out.
Xane Dalmeida - who averaged a team-best 4.0 assists per games at AfroBasket 2011 - and former University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee standout Thierno Niang join Mamadou Ndoye to make up Senegal's rotation at the point guard position.
The team is completed by forwards Maurice Ndour and Djibril Thiam.
Thiam last played for Japanese side Toyama Grouses, while Ndour is a senior at Ohio University.
The announcement came after Senegal beat Estonia 74-70 in a warm-up game played in Guadalajara, Spain.
As Senegal return to FIBA's flagship event for the first time in eight years, Maleye Ndoye - who plays for Paris Levallois in the French League - is set to make his second World Cup appearance after leading his country in scoring in Japan in 2006.
Senegal will open their campaign on 30 August against Greece. They will also face Argentina, Croatia, the Philippines and Croatia.
Senegal squad for FIBA Basketball World Cup: Xane Dalmeida, Mamadou Ndoye, Thierno Niang, Mohamed Diop, Mouhammad Faye, Maleye Ndoye, Maurice Ndour, Djibril Thiam, Ibrahima Thomas, Hamady Ndiaye, Gorgui Dieng and Abdou Badji.