DR Congo eyeing top six spot at #AfroBasketWomen in Dakar

KINSHASA (DR Congo) - The Democratic Republic of Congo have their good fortunes and a wild card invitation to be grateful to for their presence at the FIBA Women's AfroBasket 2019 in Dakar, Senegal.

Despite having initially missed out of qualification, the Congolese are hoping to make the best out of their stay in Dakar and have already assembled a set of the most talented and experienced players to have emerged from the country for an eventual stunner in Senegal.

In 14 previous involvements in the continental showpiece, the "Leopards" have had relative success, reigning supreme thrice in 1983, 1986 and 1994. During their most glorious era that spanned two decades from 1981 to 2000, the Central Africans were regulars on the podium. Since then all attempts of finishing on the podium have hit a snag and while any plans of seeing this come to fruition is minimal, the central Africans are keen on reigniting ties with glory.

FIBA World Ranking:  No. 10 in Africa (65^th in the World)

Goal: The prime ambition for the Democratic Republic of Congo will be a top six spot after a disappointing ninth place finish two years ago in Bamako Mali. But if the Congolese can worm their way into the final six then they’ll be willing to play their all and cause a major upset.

Latest results: Congo slumped to two defeats against Cameroon in a two-legged Zone 4 qualifier in May. The Congolese lost 91-46 to their central African neighbours Cameroon in Game one before narrowly missing out in Game two in a 70-66 defeat.

They finished ninth during the 2017 Women’s Afrobasket in Bamako, Mali.

Quote:  Democratic Republic of Congo Head Coach, Papy Kiembe “We want to play our best basketball in Dakar. We’re glad we’re part of the tournament and we see this as an opportunity to improve on our performance of two years ago. We’ve put together a very good team of young, talented and experienced players and we hope they can rise up to the occasion”

“We know this will be a tough event and it’s important for us to finish in the top six that will permit us compete in the Olympic qualifying event. If we can enter the top six then we’ll try to get to the final four. We want to have our best players with us as such we’re flying to Dakar with 14 players and will drop two players there” Kiembe added.

 Play style: Banking on the youthful exuberance of his players, Coach Kiembe’s team will play a high tempo game at the continental basketball jamboree. The Congolese are fast and have plans of putting this pace to optimum use with fast breaks and transitions. There will be some aggressive defending while hoping that the team’s shooters are in exciting form to get enough buckets.

How can they shock the continent? There are two ways this could happen. With the sort of talent Congo has, an exit at the first hurdle will leave fans startled. However if Congo play their way through the group stages, and display with the sort of grit that gets them to the semis then that will be a real stunner. Not because they’re not a good side but because they’ll have to pull down trees to get to that stage of the Dakar showpiece.

Head coach: There will be a new face on the Congo bench as Papy Kiembe takes over from Koko Ade who was the team’s trainer during the qualifiers in May.

 Papy Kiembe has been the coach of D.R. Congo’s men’s team since 2012 and led the side to a sixth place finish at the 2017 FIBA Men’s AfroBasket in Tunisia and Senegal.

Key player (s): Paulin Akongo has been on fire lately. Fresh from just winning the 2019 Angola cup with Primero Agosto where she netted a team high 18 points, the former Arras player in the French women’s league is resolved to translate her fine fettle while with Congo.

Chanel Mokango will be bringing to the table her wealth of experience. The 30-year-old power forward has matured into an impressive player while on the books of Hungarian outfit Miskol and is eager to buoy Congo to a string of thrilling performances while in Senegal.

Marlene Ngobeleza is perhaps the only reason why Congo had a glimmer of hope that they could qualify for the continental event ahead of Cameroon. During the Zone 4 two game qualifiers in May, she contributed a team high 18.5 points and 4 rebounds. There’s no doubt now aged 24, Ngobeleza has matured enough to shoulder the ambitions of her team.

Overview: The Democratic Republic of Congo have had their fair share of continental glory and while lately their performances have plunged, there’s little reason to think that this trend will continue.

Congo understand their basketball pedigree is the main reason why they’re invited to Dakar and will without an iota of doubt hope to stage amazing performance in Senegal.

FIBA