A list of 15 players has been made public by coach Lazare Adie Ngono of the Cameroon Men’s National Basketball team, to start preparing for the AfroBasket Championship coming up in Rwanda this year, between 24 August and 5 September. To the disappointment of several Cameroonians, NBA professionals Pascal Siakam and Joel Embiid are not available for selection due to injury.
The Center Regional Basketball League president Yves Tsala, acknowledged how unfortunate the situation is, but citing the winning potential of the players whose names feature on the list “people may be disappointed because we don’t have Pascal Siakam and Joel Embid as they are injured. I think presently, we have the best possible selection”.
“Pascal had surgery and would be out of the court for five months, and we all know that Joel Embid was injured during the semifinals of the NBA playoffs. Those players are out of the court and won’t be available for the AfroBasket” the Regional League president said.
Among the shortlisted players, Landry Nnoko who made his return, is considered to be a huge asset to the team “I’m delighted with the return of Landry Nnoko because he is a true centre, rim protector and he is going to bring that size. Our team used to be undersized. With his presence, it is going to be interesting. I think it is an advantage” Yves Tsala.
The selection is composed of both local and foreign-based players, as presented in the image below:
