Fit-again Paulo back in Angola frame
LUANDA (FIBA Basketball World Cup/AfroBasket 2015) - Every sportsman has to learn how to overcome disappointment in a career.
For Leonel Paulo, that means bouncing back from the setback of not being able to play for Angola at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup because of injury.
A high-flying forward for the national team, Paulo had already endured the frustration of an AfroBasket 2011 Final defeat to Tunisia, and the failure to claim a spot at the London Games via the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Venezuela.
He and his teammates rebounded with an AfroBasket 2013 title run in Cote d'Ivoire, where Paulo put on a show with his play above the rim.
Their great performance in Abidjan, where Angola won all seven of their games, qualified the national team for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
But Paulo got hurt and missed out on Group D action in Gran Canaria.
Angola started the tournament well, beating Korea 80-69. They got a shot in the arm from rising star Yannick Moreira, a player in American college basketball at Southern Methodist University in Texas.
Moreira had 16 points and 10 rebounds in that game and ended up averaging a team-best 17.8 points per game.
SMU center’s double-double leads Angola to win at FIBA Basketball World Cup http://t.co/S8SCkTJSqI
— CollegeBasketbllTalk (@CBTonNBC) August 31, 2014
But Angola were without Carlos Morais and Paulo, and their absences were felt as the team came up short of the Round of 16.
Morais, the AfroBasket 2013 MVP, was injured last summer.
"It's always a great pleasure to represent the national team," Paulo said. "Unfortunately, last year I missed the World Cup in Spain through injury."
Paulo was in the Angola squad recently in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and helped the team book its place for the African Games, which are to be staged in Brazzaville, Congo, later this year (4-19 September).
I will continue to work tirelessly because I want to play the AfroBasket in Tunisia - Paulo
He will now aim to remain healthy and play well to earn a spot in an Angola squad that is going to be coached by Moncho Lopez.
The Spanish play-caller was put in charge of the national team last month.
"Because only one African representative will qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro (by winning the AfroBasket)," Paulo said, "I believe it will be a tournament with major difficulties.
"But Angola is accustomed to a lot of adversity and I am sure we will win the AfroBasket."
FIBA
