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Edy Tavares, Cape Verde make history at the World Cup

Edy Tavares, Cape Verde make history at the World Cup

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28 agosto 20233 Min lectura

Geoff Gillingham

Editorial Manager

Edy Tavares celebrates Cape Verde's 75-81 win against Venezuela at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Cape Verde and its star player, Real Madrid center Edy Tavares, were the talk of the basketball world after the country booked its place at the 2023 FIBA World Cup for the first-ever time back in late February. Six months later, in late August, Cape Verde's World Cup adventure began. After suffering a defeat to Tornike Shengelia's Georgia in its World Cup group-stage opener, Tavares and co. responded with a historic triumph just a couple of days later, defeating Venezuela 75-81 in Okinawa, Japan.

What's more, the victory over Venezuela showed one of the main characteristics that got Cape Verde to the World Cup in the first place – heart. With Cape Verde trailing 69-63 with 8:31 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Tavares came in to try and turn the tide. As Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans will be well aware of by now, Tavares made his presence felt.

Tavares gave Cape Verde the momentum

Tavares remained on the court until the final buzzer sounded, in which time his fourth-quarter stats saw him post 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block as Cape Verde secured the win. For the game as a whole, Tavares had 6 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and a +30 in the plus-minus column.

Perhaps fittingly, given his standing as Cape Verde's star player, it was poignant that Tavares was the player who gave his nation a late lead, 72-73, following a dunk with 4:06 remaining. From there, Cape Verde never trailed. He then hit a couple of free throws to extend the advantage to 72-75 with 2:35 left, before his teammates stepped up to finish the job.

Playing against Slovenia… and Doncic

Cape Verde's triumph on Monday has left the door open for the nation to reach the next phase of the World Cup, but its final game in the first round is against the favorite in Group F, Slovenia. As such, Tavares will come up against former Real Madrid teammate Luka Doncic, with the duo having become EuroLeague champions with Los Blancos back in the 2017-18 season, their only campaign together.

Doncic had an incredible 37-point, 7-rebound and 6-assist performance for Slovenia in its opener against Venezuela, a 100-85 win, so Tavares and Cape Verde have a tough job on their hands if they are to stop the current Dallas Mavericks star. On Wednesday, Tavares will try to use all of those hours of playing against Doncic in practice to his advantage, which could give Cape Verde some hope.

Last season, Doncic regularly posted images and comments about Real's EuroLeague games on social media, meaning that he is fully aware of just how dominant Tavares has become in Europe's premier club basketball competition. Now, the two titans will go to battle in what should be a must-watch spectacle for any EuroLeague fan, especially those who follow Los Blancos.