Legendary basketballer Reggie Moore dies in Angola ahead of FIBA’s AfroCan

Reggie Moore in action, representing the Angolan national team. Photo Courtesy : FIBA

The African basketball community is grieving the passing of Reggie Moore, a naturalized Angolan basketball player. The country will host the FIBA AfroCan tournament in July, with qualified African teams already preparing for the event.

by Silalei Shani, bird story agency

Angola’s basketball community is mourning the death of Reggie Moore, who passed away in Luanda on Monday, June 12. He was 42.

Born in America but naturalized as an Angolan, Moore was one of a handful of Americans to acquire Angolan citizenship in 2013.

Standing an imposing 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 meters), Moore was a skilled and respected basketball player known for both his exceptional talent and leadership. He gained the admiration and respect of teammates, opponents, and fans worldwide and his impact on Angolan basketball has been hailed as invaluable.

In addition to Angola’s hugely successful national team, Moore played for several Angolan clubs, including Primeiro de Agosto, Petro de Luanda, Recreativo do Libolo and InterClube.

In 2013, he played a crucial role at the FIBA Afrobasket tournament, helping Angola win the African Championship title. He also participated in the 2015 FIBA Africa Champions Cup, the 2014 and 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cups, the 2017 Afrobasket and the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The Angolan Basketball Federation released a statement recognizing Moore’s honouring of the Angolan nation despite not being born in the country.

“Reggie Moore was highly proud of becoming an Angolan citizen and having the opportunity of representing our national team. At this moment of grief, Moore has filled our hearts with good memories. An intelligent and honest man, he was always ready to make sacrifices. We salute this great man.”

Will Voigt, who coached Angola between 2017-2019, shared his sentiments on Moore’s passing online, stating, “I am so crushed by this news. Reggie was a gentle giant and a huge part of our success with the National Team.”

Moore was found dead in his house and the cause of death is yet to be confirmed.

Despite the mourning in the basketball community, the country is set to host the FIBA AfroCan tournament from July 8 to 16th. This quadrennial competition provides African players based on the continent with the opportunity to compete at an international level.

Title holders Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) are already preparing for the event and are confident they can defend their title.

The Congolese side opened their 2019 FIBA AfroCan campaign with an 82-65 win over Kenya, then played Kenya again in the final game (82-61) to lift the inaugural tournament trophy.

DR Congo shooting guard Rolly Fula acknowledged that the improved level of basketball in Africa over the past few years makes winning back-to-back tournaments a challenge.

“Nowadays, when you travel across the country, you can see people playing pick-up ball; that’s what we mean by the growth of the game… To try to win a back-to-back FIBA AfroCan, there’s a need to make some adjustments to the squad” he posted.

Kenya’s Morans are currently at camp as they prepare for the tournament in Angola. A provisional list of 29 players, including nine from the leagues outside of Kenya, was announced a week ago by the Kenya Basketball Federation.

Tylor Ongwae, a renowned Kenyan basketball player who gained recognition in the 1st edition and was featured on ESPN’s highlight reels, declined the invitation to join his compatriots in Angola, instead focusing on his current assignment with BC Parma in Russia.

Eight of the twelve participating teams have been allocated groups after a draw ceremony in Maputo, Mozambique, with the draw distributing the teams into four groups of three teams each.

Group A comprises Kenya, Gabon, and a Zone 2 qualifier. Group B has Angola, Mali and a wild card. Group C has Morocco and the winners of Zone 5 and Zone 1, respectively. Finally, Group D has DR Congo, Mozambique, and Cameroon.

bird story agency.

Tom Kirkwood