Oct. 5, 2011
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) -
This is the eighth in a series of blog entries by senior forward Sandrine Nzeukou during time on the Cameroon National Team.
------------------------------------------------
On Monday we played Angola, a very tough opponent but definitely a beatable one. It was a hard game because they exposed a weakness of ours which is boxing out. They got many second chance opportunities and they capitalized on them. After that game we knew that we still needed to win at least one more game to solidify our spot in the final eight and head to the quarterfinals. We still had Guinee and Senegal so we wanted to win and hopefully steal a game from Senegal.
-------------------------------------------------
Guinee had not won any games yet but there is no reason to underestimate an opponent. We needed this win to get back our confidence and cut the losing streak. We went into the game and for the first time in the tournament everything was meshing seamlessly. The defense was aggresive and on point and that gave way to our transition offense. It was an easy win.
After we had eaten our postgame meal, the captain called a meeting. It was true that we had come off of a great win but there were still things that needed to be addressed in order for us to be a better team. She asked everyone to go around and say things about the team and individuals in particular that would help us get better. I was nervous because we have a couple hotheads on the team that might not take well to criticism. An hour later we left the hotel room joking and laughing and it felt like a weight was lifted off of us. Yes that hour was filled with arguments and eyerolling, we are all girls and have attitudes sometimes, but at the end we all understood each other. It was looking good for our next game against the #1 team in our pool, Senegal.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
African fans are without a doubt some of the most devoted and best fans in the world. The gyms are always roaring with noise from the fans- who pull out all of the stops! There are drums being played, vuvuzelas, trumpets....its an outright band! It's like New Mexicos's Pit, but five times louder. They never stop cheering, dancing, and sending the love to all of the players involved in the AfroBasket. To show our appreciation we had a meet and greet at the hotel with the fans. They have been to all of our games holding flags, and screaming for us and without them we truly wouldn't have gotten as far. They truly are our 6th man.
