Olympic Legends - Anibal Moreira

LONDON (Olympics) - Angola basketball owes a lot to Anibal Moreira.

A former captain of the men’s team, Moreira helped the country qualify for Olympics as a player.

Earlier this month, he led the women to the London Games with a surprise gold medal win at the Afrobasket Women in Bamako, Mali.

"Being the first coach to bring the women’s African title to Angola has been an overwhelming experience,” Moreira said to FIBA.com.

“People stop me in the street to congratulate me. It’s great, and I'm pleased with it.

"I'll be leading Angola in London, and when we start our preparations, I'll be showing my players what it’s like to be a part of the Olympic family."

Indeed he will.

Making it to London has allowed the 45-year-old Moreira to reflect on his Olympic experience.

He was in the Angola side that took on the United States ‘Dream Team’ on the opening day of the men’s tournament at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

The Angolans faced many a basketball legend in that clash, with Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, John Stockton and Magic Johnson among them.

Team USA won, 116-48, but the outcome didn’t matter to the African champions.

They were in a state of basketball nirvana while gracing the same court as players they had only seen on television.

"I think it was frustrating for our coach (Vitorino Cunha), as all we wanted was to be photographed with our opponents," said Moreira, who had a successful playing career in Portugal and Angola.  

"We cared very little about the result.

"I managed to get pictured with Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and David Robinson.

“It was great honor for me and my teammates, being their first opponents.

"Unfortunately, I lost some of the pictures when I moved from Portugal to Angola."

Angola did upset hosts Spain in Barcelona.

"It was a moral victory for us," Moreira said.

Angola finished with a 2-5 record.

If the wow factor was there for the national sides against the Dream Team, nowadays, things are a little different.

"It still may happen today, but the enthusiasm is not the same,” Moreira said.

"I remember we met the Dream Team in 1996 at the Atlanta Games, and the enthusiasm was not the same.

“Of course they had different players, but they were still the best players.

"That was a sensational experience, not only for we Angolans, but I believe it was memorable for other international players.

"The authorization for NBA players to compete at international tournaments was the most correct decision.

"Everyone has benefited from the presence of the Dream Team in the 1992 Games.”

In 2000, Lithuania nearly upset the United States in the Semi-Finals of the Sydney Games.

The Americans did win gold in Australia, but two years later and the former Yugoslavia upset them the USA in the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis.

In 2004, Argentina captured gold, Italy silver and the United States bronze.

Then in 2006, Greece upset Team USA in the Semi-Finals of the FIBA World Championship, 101-95, before falling to Spain in the gold-medal game.

The Americans took bronze that year, but in 2008 and 2010 they claimed gold medals at the Beijing Olympics and FIBA World Championship in Istanbul, respectively.

"Nowadays we see very balanced games between the US team and other countries,” Moreira said.

“Argentina and Spain have proven that the international game has gotten better.”

One factor, Moreira says, is that championship-winning NBA teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks have stars like Spain’s Pau Gasol and Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki in their squads.

"The NBA has never had as many international players as they have now,” Moreira said.

Julio Chitunda
FIBA