By Akeem Lawal
NIGERIA'S senior national male basketball team, D'Tigers
defeated China 79-71 in their opening match at the FIBA Stankovic Continental
Champions’ Cup in Beijing, China on Tuesday.
D’Tigers were still able to beat the host nation despite
being without key players like as Al-Farouq Aminu, who just concluded his
basketball camp in Ibadan at the weekend, his brother Alade, NBA star, Victor
Ezeli and injured Mike Gbinije.
Speaking after the encounter, America-born D'Tigers
coach, Will Voigt admitted it was a hard fought victory.
"It was a really hard fought game. It was great
test. Both teams played hard. Down the stretch you had to execute," Voigt
said.
Point guard, Ben Uzoh praised the team performance,
saying, "The intensity was at an all-time high. We did a great job of
playing together and matching China's intensity."
Nigeria will next play Argentina in their next game of the
4-Nation tournament on Wednesday, while China plays France who also beat Argentina 64-57 on Tuesday.
The competition is part of the training programme to
prepare the African Champions for the Olympic Games which commences on August 5
in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.
The Stankovic Cup is an international basketball
tournament for men's national teams held annually by the International
Basketball Federation (FIBA).
The idea for the tournament came from Dr. Carl Men Ky
Ching, president of FIBA and the purpose of the cup was to honor Serbian
Borislav Stanković, FIBA Secretary General Emeritus, for his significant
contribution to the world of basketball.
Being the only Chinese president of the 28 International
Sport Federations, Dr. Ching selected China as the host country for the Cup.
The Cup is organised to promote basketball in that
country and to provide an opportunity for the China men's national basketball
team to compete with other top national teams from all around the world at the
highest level.
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