BC Chaux Sport - Serge Mudogo: "All our targets for the season have been met"
BC Chaux Sport are the new force in DR Congo men's basketball. We sit down with their president, who sets out the club's ambitions.
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Sport News Africa : Serge Mudogo, BC Chaux Sport have just won the Congo Cup for the first time. How does it feel?
Serge Mudogo : We are happy and very pleased with everything we have achieved this season. All our targets have been met. We were crowned champions at provincial level before winning at national level. It's hugely satisfying.
The club has only existed for three years. What explains such rapid success?
It's simply the seriousness we have put into our work.
Chaux Sport won almost all their games in the Congo Cup. Do you also see progress from one edition to the next?
Yes, we have progressed edition by edition. In our first appearance, in Likasi, we did not reach the semi-finals; in Goma last year we finished third, and this year in Kinshasa we are champions of Congo. We haven't rushed the process and we have been ambitious in every edition.
What was your strength in this Kinshasa edition?
We had a very good core; the 12 players we brought together in Kinshasa made up a side full of quality. It's the best squad we have ever had.
The east of the DRC now dominates Congolese men's basketball. After Virunga of Goma last season, it is Chaux Sport of Bukavu who are champions this year. So can we say that basketball is growing in that part of the country?
Yes, I think that over the last 4 years the teams from the east of the country have worked hard to compete with those from Kinshasa and Lubumbashi. There are big clubs like Virunga, Amis BK, Maendeleo and Chaux Sports, among others. Basketball has changed a great deal in the east of the country.
After the Congo Cup, you will represent the DRC in the BAL qualifiers. Do you think you can write a new chapter in the DRC's history in the BAL?
We will fight to make it happen. We will start with the qualifiers in our zone, then we will play the Elite 16 before thinking about the final phase. We will try to work out how to put together a good squad to represent the country properly in the BAL and write a new chapter in the DRC's history in this competition.
On recruitment, have you already identified players, either in the country or abroad?
Yes, there are several. Our technical staff are already on the job.