Luanda - Angola qualified Saturday for this year´s World Basketball Championship to take place in Asia, after beating Cape Verde 80-67, in the second round of the fifth and final qualifying round, held at the Kilamba pavilion.
With this victory, the national team add 16 points and keep the second position in group E, led by Côte d'Ivoire, with 17 points, the two teams already qualified for the world event, although the third round is still to be played, on Sunday.
In an initially difficult match, facing a very experienced team that make use of Edy Tavares with 2.21cm, Real Madrid athlete from Spain, Angola had to be resilient.
The winger Milton Ventura scored the first four points, in a period of great balance in which the African champions won by 20-18.
In the second period, Angola started to be more motivated. Point guard Childo Dundão started what was to be one of the most successful games for the national team in this campaign with a triple.
The game was temporarily suspended for eight minutes due to a power failure in the Kilamba pavilion when the score was 38-30 to Angola.
On the return to play, the Angolans maintained their advantage until half-time, 43-36.
The third quarter confirmed the hosts' rise to prominence, with Kevin Koldia and Milton Valente´s smashing runs.
The third quarter ended 64-52, while the fourth and last with a difference of 13 points (80-67).
Childo Dundão of the National Team, with 23 points, was the best scorer of the match, followed by his colleague, António Monteiro, with 16. Ivan Almeida and Betinho Gomes were the best scorers for Cape Verde, with 14 points each.
Sunday´s match is just a fulfilment of the schedule. Everything is set, leaving only the decision of which team leads the group between Angola with 16 points or Côte d'Ivoire, with 17, both already qualified.
Angola will play Nigeria, Cape Verde will play Ivory Coast and Uganda will face Guinea.
The teams lined up and scored as follows:
Angola - Gerson Domingos (10), José Maconda (05), Gerson Gonçalves (09), Childo Dundão (23), António Monteiro (16), Teotónio Dó (05), João Fernandes (00), Eduardo Francisco (02), Jerónimo Luís (00), Aldemiro João (00), Kevin Kokila (04) e Milton Valente (06).
Coach: Pep Clarós
Cape Verde - Patrick Lima (05), Jeffrey Xavier (03), Iven Almeida (14), Fidel Mendonça (00), Anderson Correia (05), Joel Almeida (09), Kenneti Mendes (00), Williams Tavares (05), Kevin Coronel (01), Keven Gomes (00), Betinho Gomes (14) e Edy Tavares (11).
Coach: Emanuel Trovoada
