Angola has been the dominant force in African basketball since the 1980s. Parading lineups that are undersized by African standards, they have long relied on toughness and outside shooting, and have made it to five Olympics and six FIBA world championships.

In contrast, the Ivory Coast team is on the rise. Having won the 1985 African championship, the performance of the team steadily deteriorated. In the past four years, though, the west African country with a population of just over 20 million is on the rise, finishing second in 2009 and 4th in 2011.

Both teams are facing off in the FIBA Africa semifinals for the first time in history, and have fielded contrasting lineups and styles of play.

Angola's Homegrown Talents

Angola is composed mostly of homegrown players, half of which play for Primeiro de Agosto, Angola's premier ballclub. One player who provides a steadying presence for the ten-time champs is 31-year-old shooting forward Olimpio Cipriano, who scored 16 points in Angola's blowout victory against Morocco.

Guard Carlos Morais, who averages 15 a game, has been on a shooting slump as of late, scoring only a combined 22 points in the past two games. The only Angolan player based outside his home country, Vander Joaquim, plays for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in the US NCAA and has been rarely used in this tournament; it seems that he was included in the lineup for exposure. Power forward Joaquim Gomes is the frontcourt anchor of this team, which relies mainly on gang-rebounding and an uptempo pace.

Ivory Coast has a European-flavored roster; all but three play in either the Spanish or the French leagues. This is a team that has four players standing 6'8" or taller, and many of them grew up abroad, exposing them to a high level of youth and university basketball.

The team's best player, power forward Mamadou Lamizana, stands 6'10" and averages 9.8 points and 5.4 rebounds a game, leading his team in both categories.

Ivory Coast plays a slow-down kind of game, the only outlier being a 60-point win against Burkina Faso in which the winners scored 100. 6'10" center Mohammed Kone also provides an imposing presence at the post, averaging almost 9 points and 5 rebounds.

Point guard Souleyman Diabate, who scored 19 in the runaway win against Cameroon, is among the tournament leaders in assists with 5 per game, and gives his team an offensive threat from outside. The Ivorians are playing sans former USC standout Errick Craven, who is currently with Saint-Valler in the French league.

Home Court Advantage

One thing that could sway the game in favor of Cote d'Ivoire is the homecourt advantage. Angola is a team with a lot of veterans, and if they are able to close out the game early, they should win comfortably and silence the home crowd.

Ivory Coast needs to sustain its pace and pound the ball inside, where they can take advantage of their athleticism. In the end, this could go both ways, with Ivory Coast winning by a slim margin and getting an automatic bid to Spain 2014.