D’Tigers head coach, Alex
Nwora has invited 12 players for the next round of the FIBA Men’s World cup
qualifiers to be hosted in Lagos between the 14th and 16th of September.
The 12 man team expected to
report to camp on the 6th of September will be headlined by Portland Trail
Blazers’ Al-Farouq Aminu who last featured for Nigeria in 2015 when the team
played in the FIBA Afrobasket.
Team Captain, Ike Diogu who recently inked a
contract with Bayaman Vasqueros in Peurto Rico will return with a bang
alongside Benjamin Uzoh, Ikenna Iroegbu, Mbamalu Bryant and Ikechukwu Nwamu.
Others who will be making
sensational return to the star studded team include Stanley Okoye who last
featured for the team in 2015 and the duo of Aminu Alade and Ekenechukwu Ibekwe
who were part of the Rio 2016 Olympic adventure.
Benue state born Christopher
Obekpa who plays with Al Riyadi of Lebanon is making a return to the national
team while France based Emenago Obinna Clinton and Akndele Ayodeji will be
featuring again in the team that has been tagged “Killer Squad” by many.
Speaking on the decision to
invite just 12 players for the qualifiers, Nwora said, “There is no time to
have too many players in camp as some of the players will be arriving a few
days to the competition based on the time of their release by their clubs.”
According to him, he would
have preferred to have more players fight for shirts in camp, but because of
the peculiarity of the international window, those invited will only have few
days to train before their first game against Ivory Coast.
The NBBF is confident that
the players invited based on their current form and pedigree will do the nation
proud in its quest to qualify for the 2019 World cup in China.
Currently topping group F
with 12 maximum points from 6 games ahead of closest rival, Senegal with 11
points, D’Tigers will hope to make the home advantage count when they face
Central Africa Republic, Ivory Coast and Senegal during the fourth window of
the FIBA world cup qualifiers.
Winning all their 3 games at
home will ensure an automatic qualification for the team with 3 matches left to
play.
The federation has assured
that Nigeria’s best hands will always be invited irrespective of where they
play.
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