15th July, 2013
Three home-based players, who debuted for the senior national men’s team, D’Tigers, at the just concluded Stankovic Cup in China, have expressed confidence in Nigeria clinching this year’s Afrobasket holding in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire from 20-30 August.
Nigeria clinched the third position at the second stage of the Cup held 27 June-9 July in Guangzhou, China.
The home based players, who just arrived the country from the tourney on Sunday, told NAN in Lagos that they were happy of being part of the squad in China.
They also commended the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, for the opportunity, noting that the exposure they had during the competition had imparted positively on them.
According to Nkem Ojougboh, captain of Comets Club of Lagos, with the exposure they are confident that Nigeria would clinch the forthcoming Afrobasket in Cote d’Ivoire.
“For me, the experience I had at the Stankovic Cup is unforgettable and it will help me to do better in other international competitions.
“I had a wonderful experience playing with other quality players from other clubs, most especially foreign clubs.
“We had two weeks training camp in Abuja before we left for China. It was great getting used to other players and understanding the drills of the national team.
“We have a good chance of doing well in Abidjan, considering our next camp coming up in the U.S. The drilling and training would make us to be well prepared,’’ Ojougboh said.
A guard of Mark Mentors Club of Abuja, Micheal Ohiero, described his experience as a great one, saying they wanted to do better than the third place they finished in the competition.
“We came third in the Cup in China, we could have done better, but it was still a brilliant outing for us.
“We have a better chance of doing well in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, if we continue with the crop of players we have.
“I believe in my teammates and the coaching crew and also in the federation in all that is being done for our successful outing in Abidjan,’’ Ohiero said.
Contributing, Yahaya Abdulwahab, a forward for Mark Mentors, said it was a great experience of being selected to play for Nigeria as a home-based player.
“The basics that I have learnt playing in the local league would be very vital to my role with the national team.
“We are going to have a better chance of doing well in Abidjan when we come back together to train and practice with much time at our advantage.
“We just have two weeks of rest before we get back to camp in Orlando, Florida, U.S., where we will be together for another four weeks.
“This is good enough for us to know one another better and understand the game strategies that we will use to conquer in Abidjan,’’ Abdulwahab said.