SEVILLE – The Philippines has never lost to Senegal in international basketball and they’ve battled twice in the Olympics. Their first encounter was at the 1968 Mexico Games and the Philippines won handily, 80-68. In a rematch at the 1972 Munich Olympics, the Philippines prevailed once more, 68-62.
Tonight, Senegal gets a chance to exact revenge on the Philippines as they battle in their final Group B assignment at the FIBA World Cup here. Gilas will look to extend its unbeaten streak over the African nation. Senegal is ranked No. 41 by FIBA and the Philippines, No. 34.
Despite the rankings, Senegal has defied the odds in this year’s World Cup, beating Croatia, 77-75 and Puerto Rico, 82-75. Senegal has an average height of 6-7 and age of 28 years, compared to the Philippines’ 6-4 and 30. The team has eight players standing at least 6-8 and eight with US college credentials. Two are NBA veterans, namely 7-0 Hamady Ndiaye (Washington Wizards, 2010-12, Sacramento Kings, 2013-14) and 6-11 Gorgui Dieng (Minnesota Timberwolves, 2013-14).
What’s scary about Senegal is the team’s incredible athleticism. The players are long, rangy and jump like they’re on pogo sticks. With US training, the Senegalese are even more dangerous because they’ve developed their skills scientifically under conditioning coaches.
Dieng, 24, is Senegal’s MVP. A long-armed shot blocker, he played three years with the University of Louisville varsity and was Utah’s first pick in the 2013 NBA draft. Last season, Dieng averaged 4.8 points and 5.0 rebounds with the Timberwolves on a salary of $1.35 Million. In the NBA Summer League last July, he turned in impressive stats of 11.5 points and 10.2 rebounds an outing. This coming season, Dieng is guaranteed to earn $1.4 Million.
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Dieng was the starting center on the Louisville squad that captured the US NCAA title in 2012-13, beating Michigan, 82-76, in the final. He compiled eight points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots in 37 minutes in the championship game. The win capped a string of six straight wins in the NCAA Tournament for Louisville, beating in succession North Carolina A&T, 79-48, Colorado State, 82-56, Oregon, 77-69, Duke, 85-63, Wichita State, 72-68 and finally, Michigan.
Dieng credits his former college coach Rick Pitino and NBA teammates Kevin Love, Nikola Pekovic and Ronny Turiaf for the development of his game. Fans still talk about Dieng’s 22 points and 21 rebounds against the Houston Rockets and his five blocked shots against Sacramento. “I’m learning from all the bigs,” said Dieng referring to Love, Pekovic and Turiaf. “They’re all good guys and they’ve been telling me the right things to do so I’ve been listening and learning a lot from them. Having a coach like Pitino, he’s going to prepare you mentally and physically. He helped a lot to make my transition to the NBA. In the NBA, it’s a fast game and you’ve got to make decisions very quick. If you’re going to pass, you can’t think twice. Everybody is fast and athletic so you have to be 100 percent at whatever you do.”
As for playing at the World Cup, Dieng said he’s just excited to play for Senegal and do “whatever it takes” to advance the team to the next level. “If they need me to score, I can score,” he said. “If they need me to protect the rim, I can do that. It’s not me to decide what I will do. It’s how the coach wants to use me. I will do whatever the coach wants me to do.”
Dieng’s Minnesota teammate J. J. Barea is playing for Puerto Rico at the World Cup and admires the Senegal center. “He’s awesome,” said Barea. “I’m so proud of him. He’s just aggressive. He’s aggressive to the ball and he’s active. He’s a smart kid.” Barea scored 15 points in Puerto Rico’s loss to Senegal last Sunday.
Senegal’s other NBA player Ndiaye played four seasons with the Rutgers University varsity. He wasn’t drafted but managed to land a spot with the Wizards in 2010-11, earning $473,000. Ndiaye was scoreless in three games with Washington the next year then returned to the NBA with the Kings last season. He’s coming off a stint in the Chinese league, averaging 16.9 points, 12 rebounds and 4.4 blocked shots with the champion Guangxi Rhinos. Ndiaye anchored the middle for the Senegal squad that placed third at the FIBA Africa Championships in the Ivory Coast last year.
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Others on the team with US college resumes are 6-8 Maleye Ndoye of Furman, 6-11 Ibrahima Thomas of Oklahoma State and Cincinnati, 6-10 Mouhammad Faye of Georgia Tech and Southern Methodist, 6-9 Maurice Ndour of Ohio, 6-10 Penny Thiam of Baylor and Wyoming and 6-1 Thierno Niang of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
In Senegal’s win over Croatia, Dieng erupted for 27 points and knocked down 11-of-12 free throws, playing without relief. He also had eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. Backing him up was 6-0, 31-year-old veteran guard Xane Dalmeida who has worked as an import in the French league since 2003-04 Dalmeida hit 15 points including 3-of-4 triples. Against Puerto Rico, Faye notched 20 points, including 4-of-5 triples. Dieng wound up with 18 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots.
The loss to Greece was an embarrassment. Senegal went down by 23 as Greece dominated the boards, 43-31, had a lot more three-point makes, 13-4 and shot at a higher rate from the floor, 51 percent to 33. Dieng tried to keep Senegal’s flag flying with 21 points and 14 rebounds but couldn’t do it alone.
Senegal coach Cheikh Sarr, who took over from Frenchman Alain Weisz, entered the World Cup with a target of two wins in the group stage and he’s achieved it. “One of our goals in Spain is at least to make it to the next round,” he said. “The Philippines seems to be a tough opponent. Despite the tough opponents, I must say that we are competitors. We know it won’t be easy but we’ll play our best to make it happen and try to win two games or more in the first round.”
Sarr, a University of Delaware graduate who is a physical education teacher in Dakar, identified 72 players from all over the world in listing candidates for the national team. He focused on Senegal players in the US collegiate leagues and assembled a cast that has surprised in Group B.