London 2012: Angola -- Just happy to be there

Angola loves its basketball and as proof, after the women's team won Afrobasket 2011 and thus a firsxt-ever Olympic berth, a contingent of senior government officials met the team at the airport and rewarded each player with bonuses totaling more than $40,000. Each player also received a college scholarship from a private university in Angola.

That said, only one team from Africa -- Nigeria, which made Olympic history by beating Korea in the 11th/12th-place game at the 2004 Olympics in Athens -- has ever won even a single game, much less a medal, in the women's basketball competition at a summer Olympics. Angola, which has been focusing on defense in its Olympic preparations, lost all six of its exhibition games to Australia, China, and even New Zealand at a preparatory tournament last month in China, would be thrilled to achieve even that much in London.