The Afrobasket tournament that is set to take place in Kigali from August 24 to September 5 is certainly having many basketball lovers in Africa excited, as they look forward to watching top national teams from across the continent rub shoulders. 16 teams will be competing, and in this article, Times Sport takes a look at the top 6 sides that are contenders for the continental trophy. Nigeria There is little doubt that Nigeria is one of the powerhouses of African basketball. Famously known as D’Tigers, the team is expected to be a force to reckon with in the upcoming Afrobasket tournament. The team has a number of high profile players who feature in strong leagues in various countries, including in the United States’ top-tier – the NBA. Names like Gabriel Nnamdi Vincent who features for Miami Heat, Joshua Aloiye Okogie of Minnesota Timberwolves, Al-Farouq Ajiede Aminu of San Antonio Spurs, are among the players that may be included on a formidable roaster that the Nigerians may present in the Afrobasket tournament. The team is fresh from participating in the Olympics Games in Tokyo, Japan where they left without winning a game, but nevertheless, they did not play badly, considering the fact that they were competing against the world’s top teams. In addition, D’Tigers pulled off exploits in July when they beat the USA in a friendly game, and later on defeated Argentina. Nigeria also has an experienced Coach in Mike Brown, who has worked with teams like Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers. In the Afrobasket, Nigeria were placed in Group C alongside Ivory Coast, Mali and Kenya. Senegal Another West African team to be weary of at the Afrobasket. Senegal will be vying to take home its sixth Afrobasket title when the 30th edition of the tournament gets under way in Kigali. Reaching the knock-out stages of the Afrobasket has kind of become a norm for them, and they have also taken part in the FIBA World Cup before. They also have a number of top players like Tacko Sereigne Diop Fall who has featured for NBA teams like Boston Celtics and Maine Celtics of the NBA G League, Gorgui Sy Dieng who plays for the Atlanta Hawks, among others. This year, the Senegalese team added to their ranks, American-born Pierria Henry who was given citizenship in June. He is an experienced player who professionally plied his trade in Georgia, Germany, Israel, Turkey and Russia. Angola Angola are eleven-time African champions. They have also been present at the FIBA World Cup severally, having made their FIBA Basketball World Cup debut in 1986 in Spain. Angola have missed only one (1998) of the last eight editions of the tournament. They have experienced players like Carlos Edilson Alcântara, 35, a shooting guard who plays for Petro Atletico and has represented Angola at FIBA Africa Championship in 2005, the FIBA World Championship in 2006, FIBA Africa Championship 2007 and the 2008 Summer Olympics. Morais was named the MVP of AfroBasket 2013. More players include Jone Pedro, an Angolan-Portuguese-German player who also features for Petro de Luanda, Valdelício Macanga Maia Joaquim, a center who plays for Obras Sanitarias in Argentina. Angola’s past achievements on the continent may give them confidence and pedigree coming into this edition of the Afrobasket, and they may be a team to watch. Tunisia The North African nation has made 22 appearances at the FIBA Africa Championship. They will come into this Afrobasket competition as the defending champions, having won the previous edition. They were drawn in Group B alongside Guinea, Central African Republic and Egypt. Rwandans perhaps had a taste of the prowess of Tunisian basketball during the Basketball Africa League (BAL) that took place in Kigali in May, as US Monastir, a Tunisian club went all the way to the final game of the tournament. Players like Makrem Ben Romdhane made a statement during the BAL and should not be taken for granted in the upcoming Afrobasket, in addition to others like Salah Mejri, a player that has previously featured for teams like the NBA’s Mavericks is also an experienced ace to watch out for if he will be included in their roaster for the Afrobasket. As the previous defending champion, it is expected that many of the players that won the title last time will return for this edition, and this arguably places Tunisia among the top contenders for this trophy. Egypt Another North African Powerhouse, Egypt was placed in Group B alongside Central Africa Republic, Tunisia and Guinea for the tournament. They are capable of presenting a talented, determined and highly-competitive roster to the Afrobasket, since they have great players in their local league and abroad. Anas Mahmoud, a great defensive talent that was voted best defender in the BAL in Rwanda and joined Toronto Raptors is one of the players that perhaps Rwandan fans know something about. In addition, they have foreign-based players like Abdel Nader who features for the Phoenix Suns in the NBA. Rwanda Rwanda will obviously be underdogs going into the tournament, but they will be playing on home turf and this should perhaps boost them. Cheikh Sarr, the Senegalese tactician at the helm of the team recently said that acknowledging the “underdog” label will be an asset for his team as they go into the competition. Rwanda was placed in Group A alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Angola, and Cape Verde. Rwanda will be making its six consecutive appearance at Afrobasket as the 2021 edition of the games, since 2007. Veteran shooting guard Kenneth Gasana is a key player for Rwanda, but some new players like England-based Prince Chinenye Ibeh, Netherland-based William Robeyns can also take to the big stage to make some surprises.
