Cape Verde has been making a name for itself lately and the entire world is on edge to witness what’s next for the country. During the ongoing 2023 FIBA World Cup, they made history by becoming the smallest country to participate in the tournament let alone win a game. They seem as determined as ever to dominate the World Cup knowing that there are tougher games ahead of them.
Cape Verde is currently coming off an impressive victory against Venezuela, a win nobody expected to see. The team’s coach Emanuel Trovoada said, “This is a historical moment for us. It’s a small nation with a big heart. It’s a marvelous moment for our people. These amazing athletes, they represented the country in the best way possible.” They are currently in third place among Group F teams with a record of one win and one loss. Their upcoming opponent is Slovenia, led by Luka Doncic.
“Slovenia is definitely a great team. Doncic is definitely a great player. But we have 12 sharks in the sea, and they are hungry. And we have Edy Tavares, maybe the best center in the world or one of the top five centers in the world,” Trovoada said. The coach also claimed that it was quite an interesting game against Venezuela as Cape Verde didn’t have a preparation period unlike them.
Cape Verde’s Edy Tavares claims they are a challenge for Luka Doncic
Luka Doncic has had immense success despite being a 24-year-old. So far, he has led the team offensively averaging 35.5 points per game. Slovenia has been utilizing Doncic’s scoring capacity to get early wins. But this is a big problem for Cape Verde. Even though they are a defensive threat to Slovenia, Luka’s ability to create shots and follow through has often been frustrating to his defenders.
Most points in the FIBA World Cup so far:
72 — Jordan Clarkson
71 — Luka Doncic
70 — Joshua Hawkinson
66 — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
65 — Evan FournierLuka has played in one less game than the others. pic.twitter.com/FpeUo3L8n4
— StatMuse (@statmuse) August 29, 2023
Edy Tavares, the center of the Cape Verde squad recognizes how Doncic could be a problem. However, he’s confident that they will be able to tackle him. He said, “We know, Luka is the best player on this World Cup, so it’s going to be tough to stop him. Sometimes we will have to take a foul to try to stop him. It’s not going to be easy. We’re going to try to use it as much as we can, but we know we can do as much. “
Cape Verde will battle it out against Slovenia at the Okinawa Arena in Okinawa City, Japan. It will be very interesting to see where Cape Verde finishes by the end of the tournament. A win against Slovenia will help them to grasp the opportunity to advance further into the tournament.