News from Angola – Claúdio Moreno, 22 years old and 1.88m tall, has worked at Petro de Luanda and ASVEL and is currently playing basketball at Clam Venissieux Basket, a Regional 2 club in France. The young base / winger is having a great time in form this season and Noticias de Angola went to get to know better the Angolan international basketball player under 18, who participated in Afrobasket in 2018.
Did you come to Europe early, Claudio?
“Yes, my parents wanted me to have a better educational level. I’ve been in Europe since I was 13 years old. I live in the city of Lyon where I still live at my aunt’s house”.
How did adapting to France go?
“My adaptation was complicated. In five or six months, I lost my father who was in Luanda and then it was even more difficult to adapt to the language, the food, the habits, everything is very different. My cousins helped me to integrate in France and I can say that they helped me a lot. After a difficult initial phase, I adapted quickly. I am well integrated in and in everything”
Your club Clam Venissieux Basket is at the top of the leaderboard. Is the season going well?
“I can say that the sporting season is going well. We are regional 2 leaders, and God willing we will move up to regional 1, then there are the national championships. Individually, it’s going well, I feel good. Note if better games on my part and I’m improving compared to last season. I have several proposals for next season in higher and more competitive leagues and now it’s time to see what’s best for me. I don’t want to skip steps and I think that slowly I’ll go far”.
Are you still a young man, where do you want to go in Basketball?
“The goal of any basketball player is to make it to the NBA. Time passes, but the goal remains to reach a level where any basketball player wants to play. On the other hand, the world doesn’t just revolve around the NBA and we have the Euroleague, with several good teams and we have a French team, ASVEL. The Euroleague is a good level and very interesting and many former NBA players have made the jump and would be very happy to play. I’m training well, to do my best”.
Do you start with Petro, do you follow Angolan basketball?
“After Petro, I represented ASVEL in the youth teams, I played for close to five years in this French club, where I was trained by Tony Parker’s brother. I follow Angolan sport, especially basketball. Petro is my training club and my favorite club. It is in Angola that I have my family and my roots and I accompany them whenever I can. I was international under 18 and participated in Afrobasket 2018 in Angola and I loved the experience”.