KIGALI, Rwanda -- ABC Fighters have added three African veterans to their roster ahead of their Basketball Africa League playoff game, with coach Liz Mills opting to go into the game against Petro de Luanda with an all-African line-up.
Mills has brought Tylor Ongwae (Kenya), Ousmane Dramé (Guinea) and Omar Abada (Tunisia) into the fold to compliment their other non-Ivorian player, Abdoulaye Harouna (Niger). Niigerian Chris Obekpa, and Americans Chudier Bile and Alex Robinson Jr. have made way as a result.
To head into the playoffs with only African players, when the other teams have American headliners to call upon, may be seen by some as a gamble, but for Mills, it was a carefully calculated choice.
Mills told ESPN ahead of their May 21 quarterfinal: "I think it's huge [that all ABC's signings are familiar with Africa].
"You look at the imports from other teams and a lot of them have never set foot in Africa. It's a different style, it's highly physical, the pace is challenging for a lot of these players.
"Having more recruits - imports that have numerous experiences in Africa - gives us an advantage. We don't have to have players adapt to us. They already know."
Commenting on what drew her to each of her new recruits, Mills, who has coached across Africa for two decades, said: "Omar Abada is a two-time AfroBasket champion with Tunisia and he has played with a lot older players, he's played in World Cups, he's won titles in Tunisia, which is one of the best domestic league competitions.
"He can score and he can defend. He can build a team himself by creating teamwork all within the starting five. He brings people together and that's an exceptional skill at the point guard position.
"Then, we bring in Ousmane Dramé, who is our center from Guinea and America. He brings a wealth of European experience and he's played in the Guinea national team, so he understands African basketball as well.
"We just lacked his presence inside. To be able to put the ball inside, sink the defense in, that's going to open up plays for our guards. He's a great decision maker, he's a high-character person and he works both ends of the floor.
"Then, we bring in Tylor Ongwae from Kenya, who is just finishing the VTB in Russia and that's probably the second-best domestic league in Europe - multiple defensive player of the year and you know me; I'm all about defense.
"He sets the standard on the defensive end, which raises everybody to meet him on that level. He's also obviously a killer on offense."
Even if most will be taking for granted that José Neto's Petro will ultimately see off Mills' ABC, it is likely that the Angolan champions' Brazilian coach himself will be particularly cautious against complacency.
After all, he was on the receiving end of the biggest upset win of Mills' career as her Kenya beat his Angola 74-73 thanks to a buzzer-beater from none other than power forward Ongwae.
Neto did, in fairness, beat Mills in last year's BAL quarter-finals as Petro beat Morocco's AS Salé, who the Australian was coaching at the time, 102-89.
However, Mills is feeling confident that this time, with the odds stacked against her even more firmly on paper, she is better placed to cause another upset.
"The best results I've ever had with teams is when we've got the underdog label - when people write us off. I've got a bunch of players - the Ivorians, the international players - who love people writing them off. That's what motivates them," she said.
"What do we have to lose? Who is here going: 'ABC is going to beat Petro' other than us? We have this intense self-belief. We know exactly what to do to win the championship, but we also respect Petro. It's not a matter of writing them off.
"[Stephane] Konaté must have played Angola 100 times by now. I've coached against them a lot of times; everybody else has played against them. They're not a team that we fear. We respect what they've done on the continent, but we're really looking forward to the contest and we really feel like we can compete.
"We've had eight weeks of preparation and we're feeling confident in everything we've done on and off the floor and hey, they're the ones who have something to lose. They're the favourites, so we'll put all the pressure on them."