Luanda – The Angolan Minister of Youth and Sports, Rui Falcão, lamented Saturday, in Luanda, the death of former basketball player Ângelo Victoriano.
Ângelo Victoriano passed away in the early hours of Saturday, in Luanda, at the age of 56, victim of a prolonged illness.
The minister was speaking to the press, on the sidelines of the audience that President João Lourenço granted to the CAF leader, Patrice Motsepe.
Rui Falcão conveyed to the family of the former captain of the National Team and to all basketball players a feeling of regret, considering it an irreparable loss.
“We know what he represented for us and for the African continent as a sportsman. It was a reference, our permanent MVP”, he stressed.
Angelo Monteiro dos Santos Vitoriano, was born in Luanda, on February 8, 1968.
Older brother of former basketball players Justino Victoriano 'Puna' and Edmar Victoriano 'Baduna', he started playing basketball in 1982, and at the age of 16 he started playing for Petro Atlético de Luanda.
At 1.98 m and 112 kg, he made his first international appearance, for the National Junior Team, in the African Nations Championship, in Mozambique.
Honors
During his career, the former winger won four national champion titles with Petro de Lua and six with 1.º de Agosto, one with ASA and the same number with Queluz in Portugal.
With D ’Agosto he also won three African club trophies, while with the National Senior Team he won eight African titles (1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2005).
He made his debut in the World Championship in the edition held in Argentina in 1990, followed by appearances in the editions in Canada (1994) and the United States (1998).
Ângelo Victoriano also competed in the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, in 1992, Atlanta, USA (1996), Sydney, Australia (2000) and Greece, Athens (2004).
In addition to being an athlete, in 2009, Ângelo served as assistant coach at 1.º de Agosto, where he was national champion. PA/MC/DOJ
