Guinea take next step with first African Qualifiers victory

BENGUELA (Angola) – Guinea continued the momentum from the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 by fending off Central African Republic 76-71 for their first-ever victory in the FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers.
Mohamed Queta collected 22 points and 13 rebounds and Shannon Evans tallied 20 points and 10 assists in Guinea’s win to tip off their 2023 African Qualifiers campaign in Benguela, Angola.
The win came after the country reached the Quarter-Finals of the AfroBasket in September and followed the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers in which they lost all six of their games.
“This is incredible for Guinea basketball. We reached the Quarter-Finals of FIBA AfroBasket 2021 and now we are continuing with a lot of players who demonstrated huge quality and character to play against a very good Central African Republic team,” Guinea coach Zeljko Zecevic said after the win.
 Zecevic said the victory is a sign of the program taking another step.
“We can’t say any more surprise, surprise, surprise. Maybe Guinea basketball is ready to start growing up to another level. This is a very important period for Guinea basketball and I hope it’s only the beginning,” he said.
Queta is the newly-named Guinea captain and Zecevic was impressed with his showing.
“This is the first game in his history that he played like a captain. He is the new captain of the Guinea national team. We gave him more responsibility and other things and I’m very happy for this kid,” the coach said.
Queta himself called the game the best he has played for his country. The 26-year-old also said the Guinea team is a different one than the one at AfroBasket.
Mohamed Queta and Shannon Evans combined for 42 points in Guinea’s 76-71 win over Central African Republic
“This team is hungrier than the AfroBasket team. We have more energy and more guys can run. We are young but we stayed focused. So that was good. It’s a good team,” he said.
Guinea will have a tough task in their next game as they face hosts Angola on Saturday. And Zecevic said his team will be respectful of the legacy of the African powerhouse.
“Guinea is so small, we do not have any power to say anything about playing against giants. I will be very happy if we play a proud, honest and tough game and show the Angolan public that we are a national team and want to be serious and want to grow up and show our best part,” the coach said.

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