Luanda – In a year of little “harvest” for seniors, the National Under-16 basketball teams, for both genders, saved Angola's honor in the context of the African continent.
By Bernardino Vicente and Marcelino Camões - ANGOP Journalists
The men's category won the African Championship (Afrobasket`2023), held in July, in Monastir, Tunisia, with a clear victory of 20 points over the similar team from Côte d'Ivoire (78-58).
The women's national team finished third in Afrobasket, that is, the bronze medal, with a 50-43 victory over the host Tunisia, in a competition held parallel to the men's, in the city of Monastir.
Not being the first time that the country has imposed itself on the continent in the lower levels, this time the climb to the podium, in addition to reducing the poor prestige performance of honors in the previous year (men and women), demonstrates the federative commitment of more than one decade in youth basketball.
Hegemonic on the home continent, but not so much in women's, senior men have won a total of 11 African Championship trophies (Afrobasket), making them also the biggest representative in World Championships and Olympic Games.
Since winning Afrabasket in 2013, recovering the title lost in 2011, the national team was second in 2015, supplanted by Nigeria, 65-74, in a competition held in Tunisia.
To date, it has been off the podium, with the 2017, Senegal and Tunisia, and 2021, in Rwanda, being won by the Tunisians.
However, the year 2023 was not particularly positive for this African basketball giant, which failed to qualify directly for the Olympic Games, via Afrobasket, and the poor performance in the World Cup.
In the event, which took place in August/September in Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia, the national team, in group A, was eliminated in the initial phase with three defeats, the last of which against the Dominican Republic, by 67-75.
On the miserable route, Angola only beat the Philippines (80-70) of the five games of the initial phase until the qualifiers. They also beat the Dominican Republic (67-75), China (76-83), Italy (67-81) and South Sudan (78-101), the latter qualifying, with surprise, for the Paris'2024 Olympic Games.
With these results, the National Team will have to compete in the pre-Olympic tournament, qualifying for the Paris Games, together with strong opponents from Europe, America and Asia, in an almost 'impossible' mission.
In the World Cup, Angola even ranked third among the five African countries, but overall it was 26th in the qualifiers from 17th to 32nd place. The competition was won by Germany, beating Serbia in the final (83-77).
In July, Angola organized the second edition of the AFROCAN2023, a competition for players who evolve in their respective countries, finishing in seventh position.
They beat Nigeria, 72-69, in a seventh-to-eighth place qualifier played at the Kilamba Multipurpose Pavilion. Morocco won the event by beating Côte d'Ivoire 78-73 in the final.
The senior women's national team participated in the 26th edition of the African Championship (Afrobasket2023), held in Rwanda, having been eliminated in the regular phase.
Unlike the men's, the women's do not dominate the continental ranking, led by Senegal with 11 trophies, followed by Nigeria (5), DRC (3) and Angola (2- won in 2011 and 2013), Egypt (2), Madagascar (1) and Mali (1).
The year 2023 was also of great relevance in terms of player transfers. Basketball player Artémis Afonso signed for Sport Lisboa e Benfica for one season.
The athlete comes from the Spanish championship, where she represented the NBF Castelló for two seasons.
On the other hand, Sara Caetano, from the Formiguinhas do Cazenga school, joined Basket Lattes-Montpellier MMA, a club in the 1st division of the French League.
At 19 years old and 1.72m tall, the guard had a spell at ASVEL and rose to the top echelon of basketball in that European country.
This year, the Angolan winger Sílvio Sousa was made official as a reinforcement of the Aris BC team, from the 1st Division of the Greek Championship, in a contract valid for one season.
Last season, the player represented Chorale Roanne of France, after passing through the United States of America.
The year was also marked by the legal dispute between the 1st of August and the athletes Felizardo Ambrósio 'Miller', Edson Ndoniema, Hermenegildo dos Santos, Islando Manuel, Malick Cissé and Benvindo Quimbamba.
The players left the 'military' team alleging breach of contract and salary, at a time when the parties have not yet reached an understanding.
In the administrative chapter, Angolan Paulo Madeira was re-elected to the position of president of FIBA Africa Zone VI, for the 2023/27 quadrennium, during the General Assembly of the governing body of basketball on the African continent.
The former president of the FAB is a member of the FIBA Africa Central Bureau and also sits on the staff of the International Federation (FIBA).
Still off the court, the year was marked by the rise of former Angolan center Joaquim Gomes 'Kikas' to ninth place among the 25 best rebounders in the world, in an election made since 1994 by FIBA.
The former center, current president of the Association of Olympic Committees of Angola, was highlighted on the official FIBA website with 143 rebounds, after four participations in World Championships, namely 2002 (USA), 2006 (Japan), 2010 (Turkey) and 2014 (Spain).
Ângelo Victoriano, former captain of the National Team, became the second Angolan distinguished for the 'FIBA Hall of Fame 2023' (International Basketball Federation Walk of Fame). The first Angolan to merit this merit was Jean Jacques da Conceição, in 2013.
The former player of Petro de Luanda and 1.º de Agosto was part of a list of ten nominees and two coaches, being formally recognized for their contributions to basketball in the world.
However, it wasn't all a bed of roses, as the sport had a big loss in June, with the physical passing of basketball player Reggie Moore.
The player of North American origin, Angolan national, played for the National Team in African Championships, World Championships and Olympic Games.
Born in Lemoore, California (USA), Reggie Moore arrived in Angolan basketball in 2009, representing the colors of Recreativo do Libolo for three seasons, before heading to 1º de Agosto (2012-2016), Petro de Luanda (2016).
In Angola, he also represented the formations of Atlético Sport Aviação - ASA and Interclube. In his last season (2017-2018), Reggie Moore evolved at the service of Galitos de Portugal. BSV/MC/VM/DOJ
