Salgado, Kriol Star putting Cape Verde on the map in the BAL
KRIOL Star coach Hugo Salgado had taken time off from basketball for family reasons, but an SOS call from the team owner and player Joel Almeida led to the Portuguese coach doing a u-turn on his intended commitments. It seems to be a decision that has paid off for the Cape Verde team, which keeps scaling new heights.
Salgado told The Big Tip Off on Saturday at the Maslow Hotel, a day before Kriol Star’s BAL quarter-final clash against Libyan club Al Ahly Tripoli, that a long-standing relationship between him and the Almeida brothers swayed him.
“It is friendship that brought me on board. I used to coach Joel and Ivan Almeida back in Portugal 12 years ago,” recalled Salagado. “When he called, I had taken a short break from basketball. I have two small kids, and I had a difficult season last year at my former club.
He continued: “I wanted to use December to rest and be with my family. That is when Joel called me about helping them out with qualifying (for the BAL). It was a last-minute call, but I said to myself, ‘Why not?’.
“So the season I wanted to rest, is the season I travelled the most.”
Kriol Star’s foray into Africa’s elite club competition saw them go through the disappointment of finishing winless in the preliminary Road to BAL Division West last year. But good fortune befell Salgado and his team when they gained entry to the Elite 16 Division East via a wild card.
The islanders would finish among the top two clubs, laying the way for them to make their BAL debut. Which was also a first for Cape Verde’s basketball.
Reflecting on the Road to BAL, Salgado says the reason they performed poorly in Libya was a combination of scrambling to put a team together in a short time and not having enough time to practice.
“Our biggest struggle was that we did not have time to practice. We got entry into the tournament late, and we had to put together a team in two days,” said Salgado. “I remember the game against Stade Malien, who also made it to this year’s BAL. We did well leading the game for 30 minutes, but they punished us in the last 10 minutes.
“Against Al Ahli, we dominated one quarter, but our lack of preparation showed.”
Going to Kenya, Salgado says he had ample time to prepare the team, which led to the historic qualification for the months-old club.
“In Kenya, we did not change much. The difference was having enough time to pick the players that could compete at this level. We managed to do something amazing… Which was to beat Urunani in the semi-final. Before then they were unbeaten, so it was amazing for us,” said Salgado.
Fast forward to the BAL Sahara Conference, the club from the island nation continued to make great strides. They ended with a 3-3 record, and they were the best third-place team in the tournament.
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The qualification for the playoffs in Tshwane, South Africa, was not without drama. Following the do-or-die win over Angolan giants Petro de Luanda, which added another milestone to Kriol Star’s and Cape Verde’s basketball history, a post on social media alleged that some import players were unhappy with living conditions and that the team owed them money.
Looking back at the situation and the victory over Petro, Salgado says he left out players who would not help the team’s cause. He also dispelled rumours of management intervening in team matters.
“It was easy (to motivate the players) against Petro. I found the right players to win the that game. I left out the players who were not healthy for the team. It was a coaching decision not a management one, as I read in some articles,” emphasised Salgado. “It was a coaching decision…. Against Petro we put up a big fight. It was important that we either win or lose with dignity.”
The adversity seems to have made this upstart team from Cape Verde a closer unit. Following their 91-88 win over Morocco’s FUS Rabat in the seeding game on Friday night, a new level of confidence should ideally engulf the club, especially in the quarter-final battle against familiar foe Al Ahli on Sunday.
Salgado may be well-acquainted with his club’s opponents, and he also has Ivan Almeida, a former Ahli player, who helped the Libyans qualify for the BAL. Asked if he will lean on what he has learnt about them and the intimate knowledge Almeida possesses about them, Salgado said a vehement no.
“Hundred per cent no! The way we have studied them is the way they have studied us,” said Salgado. “I am going to take the pressure. We love pressure. We love going on the court, knowing that there is a knockout game we have to win.
“If we win, it will again be a historic moment. If Al Ahli lose, that’s tough.”
Salgado is also happy with what he has been able to achieve with Kriol Star, a franchise operating on a smaller budget than some of the teams at the BAL.
“It’s the difference in budgets here. I don’t like to talk too much about budgets, but if we had more money, I would pay the players we have now,” said Salgado. “I like the team we have… They show up on the court and fight for the club.
“We don’t have an advantage. Al Ahli will be the favourites because of how they built the roster, but we will fight.”
The islanders have been resilient against many odds, and on Sunday, they will have to dig in if they want to continue their miraculous run.
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