BOITUMELO RANTAO
AFRICAN Olympic hopefuls Angola have been hit by a wave of suspension following late arrivals to national team camp in preparation for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Lithuania.
Leonel Paulo and Childe are the only players reported to have justified their absence from the Petro De Luanda Basketball club. Petro De Luanda represented Angola in the recent Basketball Africa League (BAL) and recently arrived back home following the culmination of the tournament. The Angolan team went as far as the semifinals before getting knocked out by eventual champions Zamalek of Egypt.
Head Coach Josep Carlos will be looking to occupy an available spot – only three nations qualify out of 24 competing – in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games. Angola appeared powerful in their Olympic preparations, calling a deep 31-man squad for the training camp, including the likes of Atlanta Hawks’ Center Bruno Fernandes.
The Angolan Senior national team will continue their training in Barcelona before heading to Kaunas, Lithuania. Angola will be matched up against Poland and Slovenia, featuring Dallas Mavericks star player Luka Doncic.
Angola last competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and will look to join the twelve-team lineup at the Olympics which includes: Argentina, Australia, France, Iran, Japan, Nigeria, Spain, United States of America (USA).
