Angola’s basketball diplomacy

The national basketball team of the Republic of Angola is playing the Philippine men’s team to the Southeast Asian Games today. The African champions defeated PBL champion Welcoat Paints, and were leading Blustar by five at halftime as this piece was being written.

The visit is a pet project of the Angolan government, which has just established formal diplomatic relations with the Philippines. In fact, their embassy in Manila opened barely two weeks ago, and basketball is a sport that Angolans have taken to with a passion.

"There was a time we were all under the same king: Spain, Portugal and the Philippines," explains the jovial Flavio Formosa, Minister-Counsellor for the Republic of Angola. "So it is fitting that we strengthen our relationship through basketball, which is a sport that both countries love."

Angola is a country that is so wide, parts of it lie in Central and Northern Africa. Though soccer is its sports staple, they have had more success in basketball.

"After we adapted techniques to our physical condition, we created our style of basketball, and we concluded that our players are very, very short," admits Angola Basketball Federation secretary-general Raul Duarte. "Since we do not have enough height, we developed our own style of basketball."

There are many lessons to be learned from Angola’s basketball program. By international standards, they are a short team, with their centers hovering round 6-9 to 6-10. But their work ethic is unparalleled, as their practice sessions average a minimum of three hours a day, and involve endless running.

"To compensate for our lack of tall players, we develop intensive training every day, to produce a specific kind of high-speed basketball," adds head coach Tony Safrimento.

Also, Angola does not require on government support. They do not have the infrastructure to maintain a solid, year-round basketball program. So they rely on corporate sponsors, who have been footing the bill for this extended training trip overseas.

The fruits have been outstanding. Angola has been Pan-African champion seven times, and has beaten all the Asian powers — including China — in international competition. In the Sydney Olympics, they finished an impressive 12th. And at the last World Basketball Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana, they raised that to 11th. In next year’s Athens Olympics, they hope to crack the top ten.

"That is our goal," Duarte emphasizes.

As with many teams lacking in height, speed and athletic ability are Angola’s trademark. They run relentlessly, big or small, and play very tight defense. Although using your hand on defense is not usually taught, it is something the Angolans do very well, causing turnovers and forcing bad shots. And, they can jump out of the gym. And, though the team they sent here is not their complete Olympic complement (only seven of the players lined up came from the Pan-African championship contingent) they are showing a lot of amazing abilities.

But wait a minute. A country of people who aren’t so tall, who run and shoot with controlled abandon, who have excellent athletic ability? Sounds familiar.

Except for the success in international competition.

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Catch the update on the Jimwell Torion case, the Angolans in action, and much more on The Basketball Show on IBC-13 at 4 p.m.