Salah Mejri
FILE - In this Friday, Feb. 22, 2019 file photo, Dallas Mavericks center Salah Mejri in action during the team's NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets in Dallas. While the AfroBasket tournament doesn’t boast the star power of an Olympics, it does showcase ever-competitive and improving quality of basketball on the continent. Mejri, a more slender 7-foot-2 center who played for the Dallas Mavericks from 2015-19, hopes to use his 3-point shooting to draw former NBA draft pick Walter “Edy” Tavares away from the basket. Ugandan players struggled in the paint, knowing Tavares was looming to swat away shots. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, file)
Denver Nuggets at Dallas Mavericks 2/22/2019

Sep. 03, 2021 02:20 PM EDT

FILE - In this Friday, May 17, 2019 file photo, Madrid's Walter Tavares gestures during the Euroleague Final Four semifinal basketball match between CSKA Moscow and Real Madrid at the Fernando Buesa Arena in Vitoria, Spain. While the AfroBasket tournament doesn’t boast the star power of an Olympics, it does showcase ever-competitive and improving quality of basketball on the continent. Tiny Cape Verde has one big advantage as it tries to become champion of African basketball for the first time: 7-foot-3 former NBA draft pick Walter “Edy” Tavares. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos, file)
Tall task: Cape Verde aims high in AfroBasket semifinals

By Ken Maguire Sep. 03, 2021 02:18 PM EDT