What’s In Store For Salah Mejri And Team Tunisia at AfroBasket 2017?

AfroBasket 2017 is approaching, and one of the Mavericks players will be competing for his home country to win gold. The Question is, what’s the competition look like for Salah Mejri and Team Tunisia at this year’s tournament?

Salah Mejri, has been the Dallas Mavericks rotational center for the past couple of seasons. He has quickly become a fan favorite. With the events of the upcoming AfroBasket 2017 Championships, his national born team in Tunisia will be competing for a medal in the 29th AfroBasket Championships this year.

In 2015, the AfroBasket Championships ended with Nigeria as the champions and Tunisia finishing with the Bronze at the tournament. Tunisia looks to bounce back in this year’s tournament which will be hosted on there home turf in Tunisia. The most notable star on Tunisia’s roster is none other then Mavericks center, Salah Mejri. This year’s tournament will also feature another NBA player, Senegal’s Gorgui Dieng.

RADES, TUNISIA – AUGUST 30: Tunisia’s Saleh Mejri and Makram Ben Romdhane celebrate after the 2015 FIBA Afrobasket Championship semi finals basketball match between Tunisia and Senegal at Omnisport Hall in Rades, Tunisia on August 30, 2015. (Photo by Amine Landoulsi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) /

Tunisia will be facing it’s toughest competition from AfroBasket’s 2015 champions Nigeria and other competition from Angola. Senegal and Cameroon are going to be competitive as well.

Nigeria:

The D’Tiger’s are one of the best teams out of Africa today. They recently appeared at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio where they finished last in there deep pool which featured Europe’s best with Spain, Croatia, and Lithuania, and South America’s best in Argentina, and Brazil (Host Nation).

Nigeria was able to get a victory against the top seeded Croatian team before bowing out of the tournament. The team did not have much luck against some of the world’s best, however this will surely put a chip on there shoulder as they try to pick up where they left off and try and win again at this year’s AfroBasket 2017 tournament.

RADES, TUNISIA – AUGUST 30: Nigeria’s players celebrate following winning trophy of the 2015 FIBA Afrobasket Championship after beating Angola basketball team at Omnisport Hall in Rades, Tunisia on August 30, 2015. (Photo by Amine Landoulsi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) /

Angola:

The Angolan’s have won the most gold medal’s in the history of the FIBA African Basketball Championships. They currently hold the record of 11 gold medals. The most recent was in 2013.

They are considered to be the best team in the African continent, and will be looking to bounce back after losing out at the gold to Nigeria in AfroBasket Championships in 2015.

What To Expect:

Salah Mejri, being the seasoned veteran that he is will be looking to carry his team to the medal qualifiers this year. The competition in AfroBasket seems to be bleak for the most part, besides the four above mentioned teams.

Tunisia’s last gold medal came at the AfroBasket in 2011, which saw Salah Mejri as it’s MVP who led his team to a historic performance.

Next: Dennis Smith Jr. is Beyond Anything We’ve Ever Seen

This year’s AfroBasket Championships will be held from September 8th to the 16th following the EuroBasket 2017 Championships.

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