Ivory Coast men's national basketball team

The Ivory Coast men's national basketball team (French: équipe de Côte d'Ivoire masculine de basket-ball) is the men's basketball side that represents Ivory Coast in international competition. The team competes regularly in the African Championship and is administered by the Fédération Ivoirienne de Basket-Ball.[2]

Côte d'Ivoire
FIBA ranking31 Increase 2 (1 March 2024)[1]
Joined FIBA1961
FIBA zoneFIBA Africa
National federationFédération Ivoirienne de Basket-Ball
CoachNatxo Lezkano
Nickname(s)Les Éléphants
(The Elephants)
FIBA World Cup
Appearances5
AfroBasket
Appearances24
Medals Gold (1981, 1985)
Silver (1978, 1980, 2009, 2021)
AfroCan
Appearances2
MedalsSilver Silver (2023)

With two AfroBasket titles and six overall finals appearances, the country is traditionally home to one of the continent's finest basketball national teams. The Elephants have played at the FIBA Basketball World Cup four times and also played in the 2023 edition.

History edit

Ivory Coast reached the final of the FIBA Africa Championship for the first time in 1978, but they were defeated by Senegal in the final. They reached the final again in the following tournament, in 1980, but again had to settle for silver, as Senegal took the gold. Another run the following year, in 1981, saw Côte d'Ivoire finally break through and win their first title, as they defeated Egypt for the championship. Four years later, Côte d'Ivoire won their second championship, as they hosted the tournament in 1985, and beat Angola, to win the championship. Côte d'Ivoire finished second at the 2009 FIBA Africa Championship, for their first podium finish since their victory in 1985. They participated in the 2010 FIBA World Championship, which was their first FIBA World Cup appearance since 1986. The team went 1–4 at the tournament, finishing last in Group C. On 2 September 2010, In their final group game, the Ivorians defeated Puerto Rico 88–76, for their first ever FIBA World Cup win, but they came up just short in the tiebreaker to see which team would advance to the knockout stage.[3]

Ivory Coast qualified for the 2019 FIBA World Championship in dramatic and extraordinary circumstances. After only narrowly avoiding elimination in the first qualifying round (they finished 3rd in their group and only qualified because they held the tiebreaker to Mozambique), they needed to win their last three games in the final group by a combined margin of 66 points in order to qualify as the best-ranked third-placed team. They remarkably did so (actually, they won by a combined 73 points), dispatching even African powerhouses and already-qualified Nigeria by a score of 72–46 in the process. Combined with a loss for the Central African Republic against Nigeria, Ivory Coast finished third in the group and qualified for the World Championship by virtue of a better total points difference than Cameroon.

Competitive record edit

FIBA World Cup edit

FIBA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position GP W L GP W L
  1963 did not qualify AfroBasket served as qualification
  1967
  1970
  1974
  1978
  1982 Classification round 13th 5 0 5
  1986 Preliminary round 23rd 5 0 5
  1990 did not qualify
  1994
  1998
  2002
  2006
  2010 Preliminary round 21st 5 1 4
  2014 did not qualify
  2019 Classification round 29th 5 0 5 12 7 5
    2023 Classification round 27th 5 1 4 12 10 2
  2027 To be determined To be determined
5/17 25 2 23 24 17 7

FIBA Africa Championship edit

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

Year Round Position GP W L
  1962 did not enter
  1964
  1965
  1968 Seventh place 7th 7 4 3
  1970 did not qualify
  1972 Tenth place 10th 6 1 5
  1974 did not qualify
  1975
  1978 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 2
  1980 Runners-up 2nd 7 5 2
  1981 Champions 1st 7 6 1
  1983 Fourth place 4th 6 3 3
  1985 Champions 1st 7 6 1
  1987 Classification stage 7th 5 2 3
  1989 Classification stage 5th 7 4 3
  1992 Preliminary round 11th 5 1 4
  1993 Classification stage 6th 5 2 3
  1995 Classification stage 7th 5 3 2
  1997 Classification stage 8th 5 1 4
  1999 Eight place 8th 6 2 4
  2001 Classification stage 8th 6 2 4
  2003 Eleventh place 11th 6 2 4
  2005 Classification stage 10th 7 3 4
  2007 Quarterfinals 8th 6 2 4
  2009 Runners-up 2nd 9 5 4
  2011 Fourth place 4th 8 3 5
  2013 Fourth place 4th 7 5 2
  2015 Round of 16 12th 5 2 3
    2017 Preliminary round 14th 3 0 3
  2021 Runners-up 2nd 6 5 1
  2025 to be determined
Total 147 73 74

FIBA AfroCan edit

  Runners-up

Year Round Position GP W L
  2019 Tenth place 10th 3 0 3
  2023 Runners-up 2nd 6 5 1
Total 9 5 4

African Games edit

  • 1978 –  
  • 1987 –  
  • 2003 – 4th
  • 2007 – 6th
  • 2011 – 8th
  • 2015 – 7th

Team edit

Current roster edit

Roster for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.[4][5]

Ivory Coast men's national basketball team – 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
PG 0 Assémian Moularé 20 – (2003-01-21)21 January 2003 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Vichy-Clermont  
SF 1 Charles Abouo 33 – (1989-11-04)4 November 1989 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Le Portel  
PG 2 Bazoumana Kone 29 – (1993-12-13)13 December 1993 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Karlsruhe Lions  
PF 3 Amadou Sidibé 29 – (1994-03-25)25 March 1994 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Peñarol  
SF 4 Patrick Tapé 25 – (1998-06-08)8 June 1998 2.14 m (7 ft 0 in) Caledonia Gladiators  
SG 7 Maxence Dadiet 24 – (1999-03-02)2 March 1999 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) Toulouse  
F 8 Mike Fofana 25 – (1997-10-05)5 October 1997 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) ABC Fighters  
PG 10 Solo Diabate 36 – (1987-07-21)21 July 1987 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Petro de Luanda  
SF 12 Vafessa Fofana 31 – (1992-06-12)12 June 1992 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Gravelines-Dunkerque  
C 23 Cédric Bah (C) 29 – (1994-05-11)11 May 1994 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Vichy-Clermont  
SG 45 Nisre Zouzoua 27 – (1996-07-16)16 July 1996 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) Aix Maurienne  
SF 77 Jean-Philippe Dally 27 – (1996-03-08)8 March 1996 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Champagne Basket  
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the tournament
  • Age – describes age
    on 25 August 2023

Notable players edit

Other current notable players from Ivory Coast:

Ivory Coast roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
G Pape-Philippe Amagou 32 – (1985-02-27)27 February 1985 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Le Mans Sarthe Basket  
G/F Guy Landry Edi 28 – (1988-12-26)26 December 1988 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) Saint-Chamond Basket  
F/C Herve Lamizana 36 – (1981-01-22)22 January 1981 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Yulon Luxgen  
PF Herve Toure 35 – (1982-02-25)25 February 1982 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) Estudiantes Concordia  
C Louri Frejus Zerbo 28 – (1989-04-02)2 April 1989 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) Limoges CSP Elite  
C Mohamed Bamba 19 – (1998-05-12)12 May 1998 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in) Orlando Magic  

Legend
  • Club – describes current club
  • Age – describes age on 8 June 2017

Past rosters edit

Team for the 2013 FIBA Africa Championship.

Ivory Coast national basketball team roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
F 4 Charles Abouo 23 – (1989-11-04)4 November 1989 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) CB Peñas Huesca  
G 5 Mouloukou Diabate 26 – (1987-07-21)21 July 1987 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) SLUC Nancy Basket  
F 6 Issife Soumahoro 24 – (1988-10-31)31 October 1988 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Strasbourg IG  
G 7 Pape-Philippe Amagou 28 – (1985-02-27)27 February 1985 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Chorale Roanne Basket  
G 8 Kinidinnin Konate 32 – (1980-08-23)23 August 1980 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Abidjan Basket Club  
C 9 Hervé Lamizana 32 – (1981-01-22)22 January 1981 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in)
F 10 Ismaël N'Diaye 31 – (1982-04-20)20 April 1982 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Basket-club Boncourt  
G 11 Mickaël Toti 26 – (1987-04-11)11 April 1987 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) Reims Champagne Basket  
C 12 Jonathan Kale 27 – (1985-10-18)18 October 1985 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) CB Coruña  
C 13 Louri Zerbo 24 – (1989-04-02)2 April 1989 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) BCM Gravelines  
F 14 Guy Edi 24 – (1988-12-26)26 December 1988 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Gonzaga  
F 15 Mohamed Koné 32 – (1981-03-24)24 March 1981 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) Chorale Roanne Basket  
Head coach
Legend
  • Club – describes last
    club before the tournament
  • Age – describes age
    on 20 August 2013

Head coaches edit

Kit edit

Manufacturer edit

Peak[8]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  2. ^ FIBA National Federations – Cote d'Ivoire, fiba.com. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  3. ^ "PUR/CIV– Ivory Coast claim first win but just miss out on place in second round". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Mondial basket-ball 2023 : la liste des 12 éléphants sélectionnés dévoilée avec Zouzoua et Souleymane Diabaté". linfodrome.com. 20 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Team roster: Ivory Coast" (PDF). FIBA. 25 August 2023.
  6. ^ Head coaches, fiba.com. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  7. ^ "Basketball-Ivory Coast: the birth of a golden generation?". African News Paper. 30 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  8. ^ 2015 FIBA Africa Championship – Cote d'Ivoire, FIBA.com. Retrieved 23 June 2016.

External links edit

Videos edit