Rumors

Said Yves Missi: “A lot of people are proud. A lot of people were texting me about him the other day. … He’s actually the only one from Cameroon who proceeded to win a championship. So, it is great seeing him succeed. And he is not only Cameroon, he is from Africa in general.”

Andscape

Joel Embiid is adding to his medal collection -- just days after winning gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the NBA star was awarded the "Order of Valor" in his home country of Cameroon. The special moment happened on Wednesday in the Central African country ... with the Sixers center surrounded by fans as he made his way to meet Cameroon President Paul Biya. Once Embiid entered the building, he was approached by President Biya, who greeted him with the Medal of Commander of the Order of Valor -- an honor given to Cameroon natives who have made "exceptional contributions in the fields of arts, science, agriculture, commerce, or industry."

TMZ.com

Joel Embiid is adding to his medal collection -- just days after winning gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the NBA star was awarded the "Order of Valor" in his home country of Cameroon. The special moment happened on Wednesday in the Central African country ... with the Sixers center surrounded by fans as he made his way to meet Cameroon President Paul Biya.

TMZ.com

Ron Kroichick: Joel Embiid on Olympics: "It's been a good experience. It’s been a grind, being away from home and family for a few weeks. But the group of guys we have made it easy. Paris is a great city and the next one is LA. It might not be with Team USA, it might be with Cameroon."

x.com

Cameroon, ranked 68th by FIBA, will face Montenegro and Brazil in Riga on July 3 and 4, respectively. However, in the upcoming FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the African team won't be able to count on its biggest star, Pascal Siakam, who had a great season with the Indiana Pacers. The forward, who's expected to sign a four-year maximum deal worth $189.5 million with the Pacers, will miss the tournament due to his free agency. Siakam will sign his new deal after the free agency moratorium is exhausted on July 6. That will be too late for him to join Cameroon for the OQT.

BasketNews

Siakam, I'm told, has not yet decided whether he is or isn't playing for his native Cameroon in a six-team Olympic qualifying tournament in early July.

marcstein.substack.com

Cameroon have announced a 26-man preliminary squad for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 Latvia that includes some of the country's most prominent players. In addition to top prospect Ulrich Chomche - a projected draft pick in next month's NBA Draft - and Jeremiah Hill, head coach Alfred Aboya invited Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam.

FIBA

Meanwhile, his Cameroonian 6-foot-11 counterpart Ulrich Chomche, who has a long list of potential suitors including USC, Georgetown, Xavier, Texas, Arizona, Washington and G League Ignite, should he decide against declaring for the draft this year, will play for APR, having impressed for their local rivals, REG, last year. Elsewhere, Egypt's Seif Hendawy, who has committed to Loyola University in Chicago, will be joining boyhood club Al Ahly for this year's BAL.

ESPN

Cameroon also punched their ticket thanks to an 80-74 win over Senegal in the Pre-Qualifying Tournament held in Nigeria.

EuroHoops.net

In an exclusive interview with FIBA.basketball, Christian Koloko revealed that his busy NBA schedule with Raptors shouldn't be an issue to make his childhood dream of playing for Cameroon a reality. "I would like to do so, that is for sure," the 22-year-old said. "I haven’t had the chance yet to wear the national team jersey and even to compete at youth level with my country, so yes, to be able to represent my country in the future is a goal of mine."

FIBA

Sharing NBA courts with his fellow Cameroonians, Koloko admits, it's special. "I am very happy to have reached this level so far, and I am also very happy to have to share it with Pascal and Joel. So it's a great time, that is for sure. We all know that a lot of people back home, and around the continent, follow our steps constantly, and we are very proud to be representing Cameroon in the world basketball scene. It's a huge honor, and every time I step on the court or sit on the bench, I am always trying to make my fellow compatriots proud, and happy to see us in this great situation that we are in currently in. It's important to inspire the youth, and Pascal, Joel and myself are trying to do so the best possible way."

FIBA

"I am sure that we will keep getting better and better, and that we will learn a lot in the next couple of years. The level of competitiveness is getting better and better on the continent, and the goal is to have Cameroon being one of the most competitive national teams in Africa. We want to put Cameroon in the African basketball map," Koloko observed.

FIBA

Njie Enow: Former Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets forward Luc Mbah À Mouté has been advising Cameroonian side @FAP_Cameroun as they compete at the @theBAL . Luc helped with the recruitment of players. Always toiling to prosper Cameroonian basketball.

Twitter

Embiid was named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month just three days before Cameroon defeated Egypt 2-1 in the 2017 final; a match-up which, if all things fall into place, could happen again on Sunday, February 6th. "The excitement level has always been huge," Embiid tells CNN Sport's Amanda Davies about his love of the Cameroon national team dating back to childhood. "The crazy thing is that when Cameroon would always play, anytime they would score, everybody would just scream. You could hear the whole country just scream."

cnn.com