Angolans reacted to Tuesday night’s draw for the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs) with mixed feelings.
While some argued that facing Serbia and Puerto Rico in Group-A in the Serbian capital city of Belgrade was the toughest they could get, others remain upbeat about Angola’s chances.
Angola shooting guard Carlos Morais, who has featured for the Southern Africans in one Olympic Games [2008] as well as two FIBA Basketball World Cups (2006 and 2010), is one of those who feels that anything is possible as long as the team gets ready for the battle.
“This is a tough competition with high ranking teams, but this doesn’t diminish our chances because those teams respect us. We played at the OQT four years ago and we have played in the Olympics, so this is nothing new for us. Teams know us and we know them. – declared Morais
It’s been eight years since Angola last played in the Olympics – after five straight appearances. This time around things look challenging for the Angolans.
Belgrade OQT hosts Serbia, who are attempting to reach the Olympics for the first time, emerge as favourites in the group.
If Angola finish first or second in the group, they will take on one of the top two sides from Group-B that has Japan, the Czech Republic and Latvia in one of the Semi-Final pairing.
Talking to FIBA.com from Luanda, Morais, who led Angola in scoring at AfroBasket 2015, said: “We have played Puerto Rico a few times [in preparation games] and I believe we can do well against them. No disrespect, but I think Puerto Rico is within our reach. Serbia is a tough team with top players who can cause us troubles. And playing at home making them even stronger.
“If we play aggressive defense and instil our fast-break game anything can happen. For us to succeed we are going to need to get focused and believe in ourselves, Morais concluded.
Four years ago, in Caracas, Venezuela, the 11-time African champions opened the OQT with an 88-84 win over The Former Republic of Macedonia (MKD), but a 68-64 defeat to New Zealand followed by a 80-65 loss to Russia ended their chances of reaching the 2012 London Olympics.
Last summer in Rades, Tunisia, Morais and his Angolan team could have secured direct qualification for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, but Nigeria proved too much winning 74-65 in the final of the African championship.
FIBA.com
