7th April 2015 Sani Ahmed, head coach of Nigeria men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, has told the media of his plans to pair both local and foreign based players, to strengthen the team ahead of the 2015 Afrobasket championship and the All-Africa Games for this year.
He said the team’s players have been impressive in their last six competitive matches, but needsto be tougher as opponents should not be underrated.
D’Tigers qualified for the tournaments when they beat Burkina Faso in a two-game qualifier. They also won the inaugural four-nation invitational Challenge Series in South Africa last week.
Regarding the foreign based players Coach Sani Ahmend is quoted as saying “We invited some of them sometime last year and earlier this year, but some of them were engaged in club playoffs, so they couldn’t attend. Hopefully, they’ll be available when we begin preparation for the tournaments.”
In related news Golden State Warriors centre, Festus Ezeli, has said he is available for Nigeria when the tournaments dunk off. He is quoted as saying “It is a big honor to be playing for your country and I am looking forward to it. I have a lot of pride in my origins. I think that it is awesome that we have so many guys of Nigerian descent in the NBA. I am trying to get [Golden State Warriors shooting guard] Andre Iguodala to come to Nigeria with me someday. It is a great place, a great country and it has a lot of potential”
Well said.