5 inevitable questions in Window 2 of the African Qualifiers
DAKAR (Senegal) – The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers fever is set to resume with Window 2 in February in Dakar, and there is a number of inevitable questions involving some of the eight teams.
Can anyone stop Tunisia’s unbeaten run?
The reigning African champions will head to the Senegalese capital looking to maintain their dominance on the continent and extend their 12-0 winning streak, which began in February 2020 during the first Round of the 2021 AfroBasket Qualifiers.
After a perfect 6-0 in the Qualifiers Round, Tunisia dispatched all their six opponents in Kigali to win their third FIBA AfroBasket in September 2021.
The most dominant team in African basketball scene in recent years last tasted defeat on African soil on 2 December 2019 when they fell 69-63 to Angola in the last window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers in the Angolan capital Luanda.
Can anyone stop Tunisia’s unbeaten run?
Cameroon, Rwanda and South Sudan – three well-known opponents to Tunisia – will have a say when Group B of the African Qualifiers gets underway in Dakar in February.
Will coach Gueye handle the home crowd pressure?
Assistant coach Mamadou Gueye is back at the helm of his native Senegal after head coach Boniface Ndong confirmed his unavailability for Window 2 of the African Qualifiers.
Can Gueye handle the pressure of playing in front of one of the most passionate basketball fans on the continent?
In his last assignment as head coach Gueye’s Senegal suffered a humiliating 82-51 defeat to rivals Angola in the last Round of the 2021 AfroBasket Qualifiers in Yaounde, Cameroon although Senegal closed the second Round of the Qualifiers at 2-1 under Gueye.
Is Rana racing against the clock?
Little is known as to how Egypt moved from legitimate title contenders at 2021 AfroBasket to a major disappointment.
The Pharaohs headed to the African Championship bolstering a 5-0 record from the Qualifiers, and a 72-56 victory over the Central African Republic on the opening day reflected their AfroBasket’s intentions.
But wasting a 19-point lead in the third quarter to lose 87-81 against Tunisia seemed detrimental to the team’s morale.
To make matters worse, the Egyptians looked a shadow of themselves after an 86-78 defeat to Guinea – in what was one of the biggest upsets in the tournament.
Egypt’s disappointing campaign in Kigali might have cost coach Ahmed Marei his job. The former Olympian was replaced by Canadian Roy Rana.
Language shouldn’t be a barrier for Rana, given the high number of English-speaking Egyptian players, some of whom have US College basketball experience.
However, it remains to be known if Rana will be able to implement his basketball philosophy in such a short period of time.
Second chance for Cameroon?
Almost three years ago Cameroon saw their World Cup ticket slip through their fingers in an incredible fashion.
After beating Morocco and Egypt in the penultimate window of the African Qualifiers in December 2018 in Angola, Cameroon closed their campaign with a 7-5 mark, which would be enough to secure the fifth and last ticket for African teams for the China 2019 showdown.
However, the unexpected happened when Cote d’Ivoire, which entered the last window of the African Qualifiers with a 4-5 mark, made the most of their home-court advantage in last window of the Qualifiers in February 2019 after beating Nigeria, Rwanda and Mali to finish with a 7-5 mark. The Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire finished with a better scoring average than Cameroon, which ensured them a place in China.
Cameroon, who had three head coaches – Antonio Carlos Barbosa (Brazil), Jean-Denys Choulet (France) and Lazare Adie Ngono (Cameroon) – in almost two years should have learned from past experience and make the most of this second chance if they are to make their World Cup next year.
How far can South Sudan go?
In their AfroBasket debut last summer in Kigali, South Sudan reached the Quarter-Finals. How far can the newest country in Africa go in this World Cup Qualifiers? It is one of the most intriguing questions.
FIBA
