Guinea not done yet in World Cup African Qualifiers, warns Sylla

CONAKRY(FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers) - Guinea's Yacouba Sylla has warned his country shouldn't be ruled out of the remainder of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers, despite failing to come away with a win during the November 2017 window.

While the West African country suffered three defeats in as many games against hosts Cameroon, Chad and Tunisia during the first-leg of Group A, Sylla insisted there is still a long way to go in determining who Africa's five representatives will be at China 2019.

"No one likes to lose. We'll try to keep our players motivated for the rest of the Qualifiers. We have learned from our past mistakes, but we are not done yet. We still believe we can win games in this competition," said the 28-year-old.

Sylla averaged team-highs of 12 points and 2.3 assists over Guinea's first three games of the African Qualifiers 

FIBA has increased the number of World Cup teams from 24 to 32 with African being allocated five places rather than the previous three. 

Sylla sees this initiative as a game-changer for Guinea basketball.

"Our country has waited to try and play in a competition like the [World Cup] African Qualifiers for decades. We now know that we can qualify for the World Cup. How cool is that?" he told FIBA.basketball.

"Having played the first three games, I strongly believe that anybody can beat anybody," said the point guard, who plays for Morges St. Prex Basket in Switzerland's Second Division.

"The reaction from our fans back home give us the energy to prepare better for the next games. They follow our games on social media and we hope to give them something to cheer about. Even sponsors like Orange are now keen to support our team."

Guinea lost all their three games in the first leg of Group A in Yaounde, Cameroon

While trying to establish itself as a top team on the continent of Africa, Guinea has pledged to put together their best assets for their Group A second-leg clashes that will be played in Tunisia in June-July.

"These are the best teams in Africa and there is a lot of talent out there. We missed a few key players, but they will be ready for June-July [World Cup African Qualifiers' 3rd window]," said Sylla.

FIBA