Angola call up top prospects for Olympic Qualifying Tournament
LUANDA (Angola) - After confirming Josep Claros as their new head coach last week, Angola have called up a number of top prospects for next month's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
LUANDA (Angola) - After confirming Josep Claros as their new head coach last week, Angola have called up a number of top prospects for next month's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Kaunas, Lithuania.
The newcomers are mostly US-based where they play college basketball, but they have also added Atlanta Hawks' Bruno Fernando, the first Angolan to be drafted by an NBA team.
Fernando last featured for his country in the 2016 OQT in Belgrade.
Brothers Selton and Rifen Miguel, Eric Amandio, Valdir Manuel and Silvio De Sousa have represented Angola youth teams, and are often described as the future of Angolan basketball.
However, the 31-man preliminary squad includes some veterans, such as the likes of former Olympians Carlos Morais and Leonel Paulo.
| Angola 31-man squad for FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament | ||||
| Eric Amandio | Wilson Ambrosio | Jose Antonio | Jilson Bango | Pedro Bastos |
| Glofate Buiamba | Fidel Cabitay | Malick Cisse | Jacques Conceicao | Silvio De Sousa |
| Teotonio Do | Gerson Domingos | Hermenegildo Dos Santos | Childe Dundao | Bruno Fernando |
| Aboubakar Gakou | Gerson Domingos | Valdelicio Joaquim | Alexandre Jungo | Joshua Kishila |
| Valdir Manuel | Rifen Miguel | Selton Miguel | Yanick Moreira | Carlos Morais |
| Edson Ndoniema | Jonatao Njungo | Leonel Paulo | Jone Pedro | Juscelino Ricardo |
| Melvyn da Silva | ||||
According to the Angolan Basketball Federation (FAB), Spaniard Josep Claros is expected in Luanda this week to start a training camp on May 25. The Angolans will resume their training in Barcelona before flying to Kaunas.
The former African champions will take on Poland and Slovenia in Group B in an attempt to clinch one of the four tickets still available for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The winner in the Kaunas OQT will join the other winners of the tournaments in Croatia, Serbia, and Victoria to complete the 12-team Tokyo Olympics line-up, which already includes Spain, Argentina, France, USA, Australia, Iran, Nigeria and Japan.
The Angolans last played at the Olympics in Beijing 2008 after five consecutive appearances.
FIBAa's 27-player training camp roster for FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament China's 27-player training camp roster for FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament