Senegal
Senegal
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Wikipedia - Senegal men's national basketball team
The Senegal national basketball team (French: Équipe de basketball du Senegal) represents Senegal in men's international basketball and it is overseen by Federation Senegalaise de basketball, five time a gold medallist (in 1968, 1972, 1978, 1980, and 1997), a six time silver medallist, and a four time bronze medallist at the FIBA Africa Championship. Senegal was the first Sub-Saharan African team to qualify for the Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament.
The team has included several players who have competed in the U.S. National Basketball Association, including former Charlotte Bobcats center DeSagana Diop and current Minnesota Timberwolves center Gorgui Dieng, and is considered to be, along with those of Nigeria and Angola, a top African side.
History
Senegal's international participation debuted at the 1968 Summer Olympics. They would have a dominating performance on the African continent at times in the years to follow. Senegal has had many world-elite basketball players, especially at the center position, which helped the team to compete at many major international tournaments. At times, however, the team was overly dependent on its NBA-players. An example was in the mid-2000s, when it struggled with injuries. Having finished as the runner-up to Angola in the 2005 FIBA Africa Championship, Senegal qualified for play in the 2006 FIBA World Championship, where the squad finished last in Group D and twenty-second among the twenty-four sides to have contested the championship, having lost to the United States, Italy, Slovenia, China, and Puerto Rico.