Souleyman Diabate (CIV) - Cote d'Ivoire v Zimbabwe, Afrobasket 2015, Radès (Tunisia), Group Phase, 22 August 2015
RADES (AfroBasket 2015) - Cote d'Ivoire may have lost one of their first two games at AfroBasket 2015, but team captain Souleyman Diabate remains upbeat they can do a lot better for the remainder of the tournament.
He insists that anything is possible at AfroBasket, and recalled Egypt’s experience.
The North Africans, who had a poor start to the tournament a couple of years ago, turned things around and went on to reach the Final.
RADES (AfroBasket 2015) - Cote d'Ivoire may have lost one of their first two games at AfroBasket 2015, but team captain Souleyman Diabate remains upbeat they can do a lot better for the remainder of the tournament.
He insists that anything is possible at AfroBasket, and recalled Egypt’s experience.
The North Africans, who had a poor start to the tournament a couple of years ago, turned things around and went on to reach the Final.
That's something Diabate dreams of even though he acknowledges that they need to step up to dream big.
"We are here to play. We did not come here just to watch Angola or Tunisia or visit the city," he said.
Cote d'Ivoire conceded an heavy defeat against Cape Verde on Thursday in their first showing in Rades, but bounced back with a 64-52 win over Zimbabwe two days later.
The win over Zimbabwe is what Diabate sees as the continuity of their challenging AfroBasket 2015 campaign.
He also indicated they shouldn't be ruled out as one of the contenders for the title.
We might be able to do what Egypt did two years ago. We can hope, you never know what can happen. - Diabate
"For the rest of the competition we can't do what we did [against Cape Verde]," he warned.
"Our defense has to make a difference because we are not good in the offense, that's what I've learned.
"We can get better and better. We are an athletic team. We should play defense, run the floor and keep shooting threes," said Diabate who has averaged a team-high 14.5 points in the first two games.
Meanwhile, team head coach Hugues Occansey pointed to the team's rocky preparations, but insisted they should be able to compete regardless of past problems.
"The most important thing for me is my players' attitude," the former France international said.
"We can lose the game. That's not a problem because it is sports. But my players need to show our game plan."
Cote d'Ivoire will take on Algeria on Monday.
"We are here to play. We did not come here just to watch Angola or Tunisia or visit the city," he said.
Cote d'Ivoire conceded an heavy defeat against Cape Verde on Thursday in their first showing in Rades, but bounced back with a 64-52 win over Zimbabwe two days later.
The win over Zimbabwe is what Diabate sees as the continuity of their challenging AfroBasket 2015 campaign.
He also indicated they shouldn't be ruled out as one of the contenders for the title.
We might be able to do what Egypt did two years ago. We can hope, you never know what can happen. - Diabate
"For the rest of the competition we can't do what we did [against Cape Verde]," he warned.
"Our defense has to make a difference because we are not good in the offense, that's what I've learned.
"We can get better and better. We are an athletic team. We should play defense, run the floor and keep shooting threes," said Diabate who has averaged a team-high 14.5 points in the first two games.
Meanwhile, team head coach Hugues Occansey pointed to the team's rocky preparations, but insisted they should be able to compete regardless of past problems.
"The most important thing for me is my players' attitude," the former France international said.
"We can lose the game. That's not a problem because it is sports. But my players need to show our game plan."
Cote d'Ivoire will take on Algeria on Monday.
By: FIBA.com
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