Parfait Bitee will not feel his basketball career has been fulfilled until Cameroon national team maximises its abundant talent.
Since Cameroon returned to the AfroBasket in 2007 following a 15-year absence, they have become a powerhouse in African basketball.
However, their second-place finish in Angola that year has been their only appearance on the podium in the last four editions of Africa's biggest basketball event.
Now that he is part of Cameroon's 26-player preliminary squad for AfroBasket 2015, Bitee believes this is a superb opportunity to live his basketball dream.
"Since I began this journey playing for the national team, the two goals that I always had were to win an AfroBasket and play in the Olympic games," he said to FIBA.com.
Back in 2007, Bitee helped Cameroon win five games in a row, but they were denied in the Final against hosts Angola, who qualified directly for the 2008 Beijing Games.
Despite the setback, Cameroon had a second chance to qualify for the Olympics, but defeats to Croatia and Puerto Rico at the 2008 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Athens postponed Bitee's Olympic aspirations.
This time around, Cameroon will face Egypt, Gabon and Mali in Group-C of the continental championship taking place in Nabeul and Tunis, Tunisia (19-30 August), on the road to next year's Olympics.
They will need to win the tournament to gain direct qualification for the Rio Games. A second or third-place finish will see them return to the OQT.
Looking at Cameroon's preliminary squad, it certainly seems to gather the best talents the country has to offer.
"Yes, it appears to be a deep team and I really hope it is as promising as its appearance," Bitee noted.
He has three AfroBasket appearances under his belt (2007, 2009 and 2011), and one thing that he has learned over the years is never to underestimate opponents in the tournament.
"We have to make sure that all the pieces fit together with a good and smart preparation," the 1.92 point guard warned.
"And lastly the ability to manage those pieces well at the competition will be crucial."
Cameroon will open their Group-C campaign on 19 August in Nabeul against Mali, a team they trounced 89-35 at AfroBasket 2013 in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.
Things might be different this time around though.
"Egypt will probably be the stronger and most experienced team from all three," the former Rhode Island University standout said. "They've gotten better over the years. I really don't know much about Gabon and Mali, but knowing the competition I think they should be taken as seriously as any team in this event."
Bitee, who last season played for Moroccan side Maghred de FES, feels he made the most of his international career and is a more experienced player.
"Of course I'm mature now and I have more experiences from the previous competitions," the 29-year-old said.
"I do feel better about my game and I'm sure that I will be able to bring useful skills to the table. One of them is definitely leadership."
But there is one question that remains unanswered about Cameroon basketball given their talented players.
"Why have we not been on the podium of the AfroBasket since 2007?," Bitee asked. "In my opinion, it is due to the fact that we haven't gotten better as team, players and coaches.
"As we can acknowledge, many teams got better such as Egypt, Tunisia, Nigeria and Senegal. Even the toughest Angola team is back to the top.
"In 2007, we didn't have a single practice going to that competition. Every player had to prepare on their own, then we were put together in Angola the day before the event. But it was a well-managed team in the sense that lots of adjustments were made, we were focused and we had the most fun competing.
"Since then, I believe we've gotten away from those things, and yet our Federation has done a good job providing us with a preparation before a tournament."
Four teams to contest for AfroBasket final slot - 1 month ago
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Cape Verde, Chad, Central African Republic and Zimbabwe will compete for the final spot at the upcoming Africa Basketball Championship (AfroBasket). The quartet will be in action in a special tournament in Bamako, Mali between May 19 and May 21; the victorious side will take up the spot vacated by Congo Republic following the country's withdrawal from the competition [read more]
Cape Verde, Chad, Central African Republic and Zimbabwe will compete for the final spot at the upcoming Africa Basketball Championship (AfroBasket). The quartet will be in action in a special tournament in Bamako, Mali between May 19 and May 21; the victorious side will take up the spot vacated by Congo Republic following the country's withdrawal from the competition. Congo was originally set to host the games but withdrew citing 'logistical reasons' and was replaced by Angola only for the Central African side to also pull out of the race. All four teams competed in the qualifiers but failed to make it and also missed out on the Wild Cards slots which were awarded to Rwanda and Guinea. Aside fighting for a place in the African Championship, all four teams stand the chance of competing in the World Cup qualifiers which start November 24 as an AfroBasket spot automatically qualifies the team to compete in the World Cup qualification games. The 2017 AfroBasket is set to take place from August 19-30; the new host country is yet to be announced. Courtesy of: basketballghana.com
Angola refuses to host Afrobasket 2017 - 2 months ago
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Angola will not host the African Men's Basketball Championship (Afrobasket2017), said the secretary general of the Angolan Basketball Federation (FAB), Nelson Sardinha. Speaking to ANGOP, he said that Fiba Africa proposed to Angola to hold the continental competition during the congress held this month in Bamako, Mali, but it was rejected by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, alleging that in August, attentions will be focused on the election period [read more]
Angola will not host the African Men's Basketball Championship (Afrobasket2017), said the secretary general of the Angolan Basketball Federation (FAB), Nelson Sardinha. Speaking to ANGOP, he said that Fiba Africa proposed to Angola to hold the continental competition during the congress held this month in Bamako, Mali, but it was rejected by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, alleging that in August, attentions will be focused on the election period. As for the news of Fiba Africa, which announced Angola as the host country of the event, Nelson Sardinha explained that the continental body was precipitated in the disclosure of the information, as it did not have at the time the confirmation from the Angolan government. "We received the proposal to respond within 10 days, since we would have to present the proposal to the State, but given the circumstance and with some optimism, they put the information on the site as if it were confirmed". "We brought the proposal, presented it to the Ministry of Youth and Sports and it was rejected. We then notified FIBA presenting the position of the state", he explained. Angola was represented at the congress by FAB president, Helder Cruz, and the adviser for International Relations, Tony Sofrimento. Afrobasket2017 is scheduled for August 19-30. At that time the general elections should be held in the country, properly on 23 August. The Afrobasket 2017 was initially set to be hosted by the Republic of Congo, but this neighboring country claimed logistical issues as the reason for its inability to host the competition. Courtesy of: angop.ao
Angola selected as new host country for FIBA AfroBasket 2017 - 2 months ago
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Angola will replace the Republic of Congo as the host country of FIBA AfroBasket 2017, FIBA Africa announced on Friday. The decision comes following the withdrawal of the Republic of Congo, who pointed to logistics issues as the reason for their inability to host Africa's flagship basketball competition. The 16-team event will run from August 19-30. Angola has hosted it on three occasions before - in 1989, 1999 and 2007 [read more]
Angola will replace the Republic of Congo as the host country of FIBA AfroBasket 2017, FIBA Africa announced on Friday. The decision comes following the withdrawal of the Republic of Congo, who pointed to logistics issues as the reason for their inability to host Africa's flagship basketball competition. The 16-team event will run from August 19-30. Angola has hosted it on three occasions before - in 1989, 1999 and 2007. The decision on the selection of the new host was made after a meeting in Bamako on Friday between the Angolan Basketball Federation (FAB) and the FIBA Africa board. The teams competing in FIBA AfroBasket 2017 are: reigning champions Nigeria; hosts Angola; Morocco, Tunisia, Mali, Senegal,Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Uganda, Mozambique and South Africa, all of whom earned their place through the FIBA AfroBasket 2017 Qualifiers; Guinea and Rwanda, who received a wild card each. An additional wild card will be allocated in order to select the Republic of Congo's replacement. Courtesy of: fiba.com
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