Cameroon to face Gabon, Mali and Egypt at AfroBasket

Judging by the opinions of players, coaches and officials, AfroBasket 2015 could be Africa's most competitive basketball tournament ever.

And almost everyone wants to win it.

Following Saturday's night draw held in Tunis, Tunisia, 13 national teams found out some of their opponents for Africa's most prestigious basketball event, set to take place in the Tunisian cities of Tunis and Nabeul, from 19 to 30 August.

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06/04/2015 Julio Chitunda's African Message AfroBasket 2015 draw as seen by players and coaches Official Draw Ceremony for AfroBasket 2015

SHEFFIELD (Julio Chitunda's African Message) - Judging by the opinions of players, coaches and officials, AfroBasket 2015 could be Africa's most competitive basketball tournament ever.

And almost everyone wants to win it.

Following Saturday's night draw held in Tunis, Tunisia, 13 national teams found out some of their opponents for Africa's most prestigious basketball event, set to take place in the Tunisian cities of Tunis and Nabeul, from 19 to 30 August.

Updated groups of the #AfroBasket2015. Tunisia and Nigeria are in group A pic.twitter.com/oG2Jw1fzOW

— FIBA (@FIBA) April 5, 2015

The remaining three national teams, wild card entries to be selected from a group of seven candidates - South Africa, Algeria, Senegal, Central African Republic (CAF), Guinea, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (COD) - will be selected later this month to round out the 16-team field.

The tournament draw was a step on the road to earn the place on offer for African teams to qualify for the 2016 Olympics.

A handful of teams will aim to finish on the top step of the podium and clinch direct qualification for the Rio Games.

In Group A, hosts Tunisia will take on debutants Uganda, Nigeria and a team to be determined.

The reigning champions Angola have been drawn in Group B along with Mozambique, Morocco and another team to be decided through the wild card process.

AfroBasket 2013 runners-up Egypt are in Group C and will face Gabon, Mali and Cameroon, while Group D is composed of Cote d'Ivoire, Cape Verde, another team making its debut in Zimbabwe and a team from the wildcard process.

Four years ago in Madagascar, Tunisia - a basketball giant in the making on the African continent - snapped Angola's run of five consecutive Olympic appearances to make their debut at London 2012.

Now, the general feeling is that the hosts of AfroBasket 2015 are the team to beat as they have what it takes to make their second Olympic appearance.

To find out more, I talked with some AfroBasket protagonists, and asked them for their impressions of the draw as well as their opinions about the upcoming tournament.

This is what they told me.

A key member of the Morocco national team over the past few years, Younes Idriss said: "It depends on what's the fourth national team. If Senegal is the one team to receive a wild card in our group, then it is going to be super hard, a tough group."

Gabon's Stephane Lasme may focused on helping his Anadolu Efes Istanbul team in the Top 16 Group F of the Euroleague, but he keeps an eye on his national team's future.

"I think we can make some noise. We are underdogs, which is not a bad place to be. We have no pressure," he said.

Ike Diogu led Nigeria in scoring in his last three international appearances for the West African country. He is now a free agent, but is hopeful of wearing the D'Tigers colours again.

"Tunisia will be tough as will the other teams. We learned from the last AfroBasket, [that] we can't overlook anybody and this group of Nigerians will not overlook the competition at all. We look forward to a tough challenge," said the 31-year-old who most recently played for the Dongguan Leopards in China's CBA.

Cote d'Ivoire forward Guy Landry Edi, who plays for Chalons-Reims in the French top flght, feels confident and prepared to take his national team where he believes they belong.

"I think it's very good draw for us to clinch that top spot in the group," said the former Gonzaga University player. "I have got more expansive playing professional and the other guys also are on the same path to stay focused and work hard to get it done in the summer.

Octavio Magolico, who led Mozambique in scoring and rebounding at AfroBasket 2013, said: "Our performance in the tournament depends on the level and quality of our preparation programme. We have a new coach, we have experienced players, and a group of talented young players coming up this year. I think we are going to do well in Tunis."

Mali's Mohamed Tangara said: "I like our chances in the Group C. Much respect to Egypt who participated in the [FIBA Basketball] World Cup. Cameroon is a big basketball country who has good players around the world. Gabon, we can't sleep on them, they did what they got to to be qualified, that's the reason they will come out with the mindset to win games. We got some good veterans players such as Yohann Sangare, Amara Sy and many others who are still in conversation to rejoin the national team. Either way with young players or with our experienced veterans, we will have players who can get the job done."

Egypt guard Ibrahim El Gammal has lived the dream of playing and leading the North African country in scoring at Spain 2014. Now, he insists, it is about time to think and work towards the Rio de Janeiro Games.

"Group C is a strong one. After playing in the [2014] FIBA [Basketball] World Cup, our next dream dream is to play in the [2016] Olympic Games. We have big dreams, and I hope we perform well once again at AfroBasket 2015," he explained.

Former Cape Verde international Rodrigo Mascarenhas, who served as the country's head coach during the two-team qualifiers in February in their capital city of Praia, feels they can do a lot better than they did in Abidjan two years ago, where they fell short to Egypt in the Quarter-Finals.

For Mascarenhas, their AfroBasket history makes him to believe that they can go farther in the tournament.

“If Senegal receives a wildcard, and it is placed in our group D, then, it will be very competitive one. But, I feel with the guys that we have playing overseas we can match or improve our AfroBasket 2007 record [where they finished third]," he pointed out.