The pre-Olympic basketball tournament starts this Tuesday, in four different host cities, namely Valencia, Spain; in Riga, Latvia; in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and in Piraeus, Greece.
Angola, which only enters the field this Wednesday, will play on Spanish soil. It will be in Valencia that the team will play the tournament games.
According to the Angolan Basketball Federation, in a note that VerAngola had access to, Angola's first game is scheduled for this Wednesday against Spain. The following day, Thursday, the national team returns to the field to face the Lebanon team.
In this tournament, Angola is part of group A, based in Valencia, which also includes Spain and Lebanon. The national team seeks to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and, according to Angop, only the first team in each group qualifies for the Olympic competition.
Before traveling to Spain, the team was in Serbia where they played friendly matches in preparation for the pre-Olympic tournament. The last game, before leaving for Valencia on Saturday, was against the Russian under-20 team, which Angola beat 74-59.
Already on Spanish soil, the team held its first training session last Sunday.
According to the federation, the players "showed great determination and focus, quickly adapting to the new environment and playing location."
"Under the technical guidance of Pep Clarós and his assistants, the team worked intensely on strategies and tactics, adjusting the last details to face the next matches", says the federation.
Regarding Wednesday's match against Spain, former national coach Carlos Dinis considered that the national team will need maximum concentration against the Spanish team. Although he recognized that the chance of the Angolans beating the Spanish is small, as Spain has athletes in the best world championships, the coach said he believes in the importance of this game, as a positive result will bring motivation for the next games.
"If it is not possible to win the match, we must take advantage of the moment to enhance players for future commitments," he added, speaking to Angop.
It is also worth mentioning that, for the pre-Olympic tournament, to be played between July 2nd and 7th, the national team coach called up 12 basketball players: Gerson Gonçalves, Bruno Fernando, Luís Pereira, Aboubakar Gakou, Sílvio Sousa, Childe Dundão, Selton Miguel, João Fernandes, Eduardo Franciso, Aginaldo Neto, Jilson Bango and Macachi Brás.
