SHEFFIELD (Julio Chitunda's African Message) - While most teams are still putting together plans for FIBA AfroBasket 2017, Cameroon, South Africa, Tunisia and Angola are making sure to get ready for the 16-team showdown. 

This year's continental cup is expected to take place in September and those four nations seem to believe that the sooner they start preparing the better they could become.

And the African team that has made the most noise so far is clearly Cameroon.

Cameroon win a four-team tournament in Changshu, China, June 2017 

Playing without some of their biggest names Joel Embiid, Jeremy Nzeulie, Luc Mbah a Moute and Kenneth Kadji, the 52nd-ranked team stunned New Zealand - who themselves are 20th in the NIKE FIBA World Ranking - 83-59 to claim victory in a four-team (Montenegro, Zealand, Jiangsu) tournament in Changshu, China.

The Central Africans' determination prompted New Zealand assistant coach Mike Fitchett to describe the Cameroon as a "very tough" opposition.

He noted: "We struggled with their length and athleticism and struggled to deal with the defensive pressure. That defensive pressure resulted in 29 turnovers including 21 steals given up."

Felix Bogmis, who had a breakthrough performance at last year's FIBA African Champions Cup with Cameroon side Nzui-Manto, led Cameroon with a game-high 32 points in the decisive game against the Kiwis. 

Last week, South Africa, who qualified for the FIBA AfroBasket for the first time since 2011, travelled to the Far East to claim a Third-Place finish in the inaugural BRICS Games in Guangzhou, China thanks to 88-75 win over India.

South Africa returned home with a BRICS Games 2017 bronze medal  

That success not only gave Craig Gilchrist's team a morale booster for the upcoming continental championship and the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers, which starts in November, but also indicates how eager South Africa are to put their name on the international basketball map. 

In Luanda, former African champions Angola, now under the tutelage of Manuel Silva and former FIBA AfroBasket MVP Miguel Lutonda, opened their preparations last week working day in day out looking to integrate a number of new faces.

Angola men's team seen here during a practice session last week in Luanda 

Six of the 22 players named to the preliminary squad - all of them under the age of 23 - have yet to represent the 11-time African champions at senior level but that hasn't prevented them from being real candidates to the final roster. In the process, Angola plan a training camp in Europe before embarking on a championship they aim to regain after losing to Nigeria two years ago.

Meanwhile, according to a Tunisian Basketball Federation (FTBB) statement, the men's team's training camp has been rescheduled to run from June 27 to July 8 in Monastir. The postponement, FTBB noted, was due to financial difficulties.

The return of FIBA AfroBasket 2011 MVP Salah Mejri - after missing the FIBA AfroBasket 2017 Qualifiers against Morocco and Algeria due to his NBA commitments with the Dallas Mavericks - is clearly the highlight for the Mario Palma-coached team Tunisia. 

Julio Chitunda

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

FIBA takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.