Luanda – Angola faces host Spain at 6:30 pm this Wednesday, in the inaugural round of the Pre-Olympic Basketball Tournament, for Group A, based in Valencia, 32 years after the Barcelona Olympic Games.
Until then, it was a true utopia to think about beating a powerful opponent, at the time led, among others, by NBA legend Pau Gasol, but the unlikely victory happened, by 83-63.
The significant 20 points defeat against a team with no great expression in the world outside Africa, led to changes in strategies, namely training and federative leadership on the part of the Spaniards.
This Wednesday, the two teams begin the race for a place among 6 competitors, based in Valencia, for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, at a time when Spain continues to be theoretically the most favorite.
The Municipal Pavilion Font de Saint Luís will be the Stage for Group A.
Unlike 1992 when did have any player evolving at the National Basket Association, this time Angola even has Center/Power Forward Bruno Fernando, who plays for the Atlanta Hawks.
In the Spain team, Willy Hernagomes, Center of the New Orleans Pelicans, leader of a more experienced team compared to Angola.
The competition has been taking place since Tuesday, and a four-city competition, involving each of the two groups of three teams, for a total of 24.
These are the cities of Riga (Latvia), Piraeus (Greece), San Juan (Puerto Rico) and Valencia (Spain).
Angola is included in Group A, based in Valencia, alongside Spain, today's debut opponent, and Lebanon, on Thursday.
MC/CF/jmc
