MAPUTO (AfroBasket Women 2015) - Vania Sengo is one of the new faces that Mozambique's head coach Nazir Sale is currently working with to cover the absences of a trio of international players for the upcoming AfroBasket Women.

Last week, Sale began his training camp with a 14-player preliminary squad in Maputo, Mozambique.

While Anabela Cossa, Catia Halar and Filomena Micato ruled out from this year's event due to undisclosed injuries, rising star Sengo headlines a group of newcomers that includes Vilma Covane and newly-crowned MVP of Mozambique's national championship, Ornelia Mutombene.

Coach Sale now faces a challenge of finding a good three-pointer shooter to replace Cossa, who was tremendously important for Mozambique at AfroBasket Women 2013.

The question is where that replacement will be coming from.

If all goes according to her plans, 19-year-old Sengo - a pivotal element in Mozambique's campaign at 2014 FIBA Africa U18 Women - will make her debut at senior level.

Last year, Sengo came up with 19 points and 14 rebounds to help her country beat Algeria 51-48 and clinch third place.

With Mozambique aiming squarely to claim the title at AfroBasket Women 2015, Sengo - who plays for Torres Novas in Portugal - will need to live up to her promising star credentials.

Sengo, Covane and Mutombene represent the new generation of Mozambique's women's basketball and all three will need to be at their best to help a team seeking its first-ever African title and to achieve automatic qualification for next year's Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

As Francisco Mabjaia, the chairman of the country's Basketball Federation, put it: "Our target is to be part of the biggest sporting event on earth."

A good start at AfroBasket Women 2015 - taking place in Yaounde, Cameroon from 24 September-3 October - is crucial for Mozambique who will face hosts Cameroon, Gabon, Mali, South Africa and Uganda in Group A. 

We have same the objectives as our opponents, which is to reach the top places of the competition. - Sale

"The tournament is going to be as difficult for us as for our opponents," Nasir Sale, the team's head coach, told the local media.

Sale and his team will hold training camps in Portugal and the Czech Republic before traveling to Cameroon.

Mozambique preliminary squad for AfroBasket Women 2015: Ilda Chambe, Vilma Covane, Leia Dongue, Deolinda Gimo, Odelia Mafanela, Valerdina Manhonga, Isabel Mavamba, Rute Muianga, Ornelia Mutombene, Deolinda Ngulela, Elizabeth Pereira, Ludomila Rangel, Eliana Sheila and Vania Sengo.

FIBA