Four new faces for Angola at Spain 2014

LUANDA (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Angola head coach Paulo Macedo has added fresh legs to the squad for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, which starts this week in Spain.

Islando Manuel, Edson Ndoniema and Yanick Moreira will make their debut at senior level competition after featuring at the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship, and Roberto Fortes is set to play his second World Cup in four years.

John Pedro, Mutau Fonseca and Edmir Lucas were cut from the preliminary squad as the African champions completed a three-week training camp in Spain.

From the group of players that helped Angola win the AfroBasket 2013, which qualified the Africans for Spain 2014, four players will sit out this time around.

Former team captain Carlos Almeida has retired to continue his political career as a Member of the Angolan Parliament, Leonel Paulo suffered a hand injured in May, which limited his chances of playing in Spain, and Felizardo Ambrosio and Carlos Morais are currently recovering from knee injuries. 

For Macedo, "these players will help Angola reach its objectives in the world cup."

Despite missing Morais, Paulo and Ambrosio, and losing warmup games to Argentina, Brazil and hosts Spain Macedo is adamant they "will do well."

Olimpio Cipriano, who missed some of those games for precaution, is said to be fully recovered from a knee injury and ready to step up against Angola's Group D opponents, which included Mexico, Korea, Australia, Lithuania and Slovenia.

"We are glad that Olimpio is well and has been able to practice with us in the last days of training camp in Spain," Macedo explained.

Angola squad for 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup: Hermenegildo Santos, Islando Manuel, Edson Ndoniema, Reggie Moore, Valdelicio Joaquim, Yanick Moreira, Armando Costa, Milton Barros, Olimpio Cipriano, Roberto Fortes, Eduardo Mingas and Joaquim Gomes.

FIBA