ANG - Back on top

LUANDA (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - The feeling was not a good one for Angola's players as they stepped onto the podium at AfroBasket 2011 in Madagascar.

To finish in the top three at international basketball events is normally cause for a huge celebration, yet Angola never set out to finish second best.

When they arrived at AfroBasket 2011, Angola had won six titles in a row and 10 of the previous 11, with Senegal (1997) the only other country to win gold in that stretch.

Tunisia dethroned Angola, however, and also prevented them from clinching a spot at the 2012 Olympics.

Angola then came up short in their attempt to make it to London at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Venezuela, with Nigeria, Lithuania and Russia instead claiming the three places on offer.

The summer of 2011 looks as if it were just a blip.

Angola marched to the gold medal again this year, beating all seven teams they faced at the AfroBasket in Abidjan, including hosts Cote d'Ivoire in the Semi-Finals.

Carlos Morais was named MVP of the tournament.

If AfroBasket 2011 taught Angola that nothing can be taken for granted, then AfroBasket 2013 reminded everyone in Africa that the Angolans are still the best.

Is their focus sharp enough to make an impact at the FIBA Basketball World Cup?

While watching Angola not only compete but win AfroBasket Women 2013 in Maputo, Mozambique, back in October, Milton Barros, a member of the men's national team, spoke with a lot of optimism about the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.

"It will be tough to compete against the world's best," he said to FIBA.com, "but we are an experienced group of players capable of making Africa proud."

At the 2006 and 2010 FIBA World Championships, the Angolans advanced from the Preliminary Round.

They want more.

Who knows? Maybe their time is going to come and Angola will transfer their continental success to the world stage.

FIBA