And if finally Joel Embiid chose to wear the jersey of Cameroon? This is not to be excluded since his country qualified for the pre-Olympic tournament on Sunday by winning 80-74 in the final against Senegal. Undefeated in the competition, Jeremiah Hill’s partners (11 pts, 14 wt) took control in the 2nd quarter thanks to a 22-8 to join the locker room with a 14-point lead (47-33 ).
Senegal’s stray bullets weighed heavily in their comeback attempt, like this technical foul 15 seconds from the end when Moustapha Diop’s teammates (14 points, 7 rebounds) had returned to -3. The arms of Samir Gbetkom and Hill will not shake in the last seconds to achieve a 3 out of 3 on free throws, synonymous with victory and qualification for the pre-Olympic tournament. This is a first since 2008 for Cameroon, and it is even the first time that the Indomitable Lions have won a continental competition!
With Siakam and/or Embiid?
Cameroon thus joins Poland, Bahrain, Croatia and the Bahamas as first qualifiers for the Olympic pre-qualification tournaments which will take place in 2024. They will pit 24 teams, divided into four pools of six. The winner of each tournament will qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics. There is therefore still a long way to go for Cameroon, but it will be interesting to see if Joel Embiid, and even Pascal Siakam, decide to strengthen them.
For the moment, only France, as the organizing country, is qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games. The World Cup will allow the allocation of seven tickets: 2 for the Americas; 2 for Europe; 1 for Africa; 1 for Asia and 1 for Oceania.
