Angolan hoopsters aim to give China the elbow

Think of Angolan basketball and many people wince at the memory of Charles Barkley smashing his elbow into a spindly African at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Barkley's nastiness served as a snapshot of the world's richest nation bullying a then impoverished, war-torn African country - but it also put Angola's basketball players on the map.

Since then Angolans have won seven of their nine African titles, while the end of the country's 1975-2002 civil war has led to improved conditions and facilities for the players.