Cote d'Ivoire has released the 12-man roster of the country's national team. The Elephants decided to build a squad around the veterans that played at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

The list goes as follows:

Charles Abouo (guard), Bryan Pamba (guard), Nonma Adjehi (forward), Frejus Zerbo (center), Souleyman Diabate (guard), Vafessa Fofana (guard), Bali Coulibaly (forward), Tiegbe Bamba (forward), Guy Landry Edi (guard), Mohamed Kone (center), Deon Thompson (forward), Abraham Sie (forward)

Abouo, Daibate, Edi and Kone played for their country nine years ago in Turkey. Having missed the 2014 World Cup in Spain, Cote d'Ivoire made it back this time to China, thanks to the efforts of Pamba, Adjehi, Fofana, Coulibaly and Bamba.

"It feels good to be back at the World Cup, playing for the second time. Not a lot of people, from where I come from, have made it this far. Playing against the best players from around the world is a big achievement, especially at my age," said 38-year old Kone.

Kone and 32-year-old veteran Diabate will again be leading the team, and this time, they will receive some help from newcomers Thompson and Sie.

Cote d'Ivoire are the lowest ranking team (No. 64) of all 32 participants of the World Cup. Moreover, a player strike before the tournament due to unpaid bonuses will not help their chances of advancing.

"No one gave us a chance to qualify for this World Cup, and we did it. No one believed we could beat Nigeria, and we did it. We had been ruled out from start to finish of the African qualifiers, and here we are. We are going to play the host nation China in Beijing?" said head coach Paolo Povia.

Cote d'Ivoire are in Group A with China, Poland and Venezuela. They will meet their first opponent, host China at the Cadillac Arena (formerly Wukesong Culture and Sports Center) in Beijing on August 31.