2nd April, 2012
Tunisia’s senior national team have set themselves a target of surpassing Angola’s Olympic record of being the only African nation to win two matches at the Olympics.
Tunisia are the current African champions after they defied bookmakers prediction to win the 2011 Afrobasket in Madagascar. They defeated former champions, Angola, by 67-56 points in the final.
Their title triumph over Angola in Madagascar secured Tunisia an automatic ticket for the next Olympics in London.
Speaking to FIBA.com on their chances in London, the Most Valueable Player, MVP, in Madagascar, Salah Mejri, who also fought hard for his country at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, where he finished with three blocks and 15 rebounds, said that fans at the Olympics will see a Tunisian team that are fearless when they play at the London Games.
“We are going to the Olympics to compete and realistically, we expect to win one or two games.
“Our ambition is to become the second African team to win at least two games at an Olympics in the last 20 years,” Mejri told FIBA.com.
Angola were Africa’s representatives at the previous five Olympics and in that time, they won a total of three games – two in Barcelona in 1992 against host nation Spain and then China.
Tunisia’s trip to the 2010 World Championship in Istanbul made the players believe that anything is possible at the Olympics.
They lost all five games in Turkey, yet left believing they belonged on the biggest stages of international basketball.
He said: “We went to the World Championship to see what it was like to play at a high level,” Mejri said.