Basketball
D’TIGERS’ FINAL WORLD CUP LIST DIFFICULT TO PICK SAYS COACH NWORA
With just 16 days to the commencement of the 2019 FIBA World Cup, D’Tigers Head Coach, Alex Nwora says picking the last 12 players from the 15 players left in camp will be the hardest job to do.
Speaking to journalists after the team’s first training session in Lagos, Nwora said despite all the 44 players on the preliminary list being good enough to be at the world cup, the Technical Crew can only pick 12 players to represent the country.
“The players that have lasted this long are those I think can help us to put up a good fight at the world cup. All the people we invited to camp can really play, but unfortunately, we have to go with the best and we are still figuring that out the 12 we can put on the floor for our first game against Russia.”
For him, being in camp since 7th of July and playing 4 grade A friendlies with fellow world cup bound teams has been very productive as he thanked the NBBF board led by Engr. Musa Kida for the usual support.
“At this point, the preparation we have embarked upon since the 7th of July has been very productive for us. I want to thank the federation and the president, Engr Nusa Kida for making it possible to start our preparations earlier.”
Despite targeting a podium finish, Nwora is not carried away by the ranking recently released by experts which placed the team in number eight spot out of the 32 nations expected to compete.
“Ranking means little for me. We have a goal of being one of the teams on the podium at the end of the tournament. Ranking is great, but that is not where we want to be. We want to be number one if we can and that is what we are working towards.”
He said the rating which has thrown many people into a state of frenzy is nothing but just the result of the permutation of few people which is not in any way reflective of his mission in China.
“The ranking is just for egos. We appreciate it, but that is not our goal. We won’t take anybody for granted. We will go there and fight and make Nigerians proud.”
The coach said his wards are focused on the task ahead which is representing the country well in line with its new found status amongst basketball playing nations.
D’Tigers are paired alongside Argentina, Russia and Korea in Group B and will play all their group games in Wuhan.
The World Cup starts on Saturday, 31st of August.
Musa Kida, the president of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), has been appointed as a non-executive chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), the country’s apex oil company. His appointment is part of the sweeping overhaul that the Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu made in the first working day after the Sallah break.
The sacking of the board of the NNPC sees the appointment of Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), replacing Mele Kolo Kyari. Prior to his current appointment, Kida was the Deputy Managing Director, Deep Water Services, of Total Nigeria.
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Basketball
NSC DG Bukola Olopade Congratulates NBBF Boss Musa Kida for new appointment as NNPC Chairman
The Director General of the National Sports Commission NSC, Bukola Olopade, has congratulated the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, Musa Kida, for his appointment as the new Board Chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Olopade said Musa Kida has been one of Nigeria’s most efficient and Productive Sports administrators who has sacrificed a lot for the growth of Nigerian Basketball.
The DG maintained that his latest appointment is a testament to his years of passion, hard work, dedication and a very successful track record in the oil sector for more than two decades.
” Musa Kida is an accomplished administrator whose achievements cut across both the oil sector and Nigerian basketball. I have no doubt that the NNPC Limited will attain better efficiency and attract more investment under his watch”.
” Under his leadership as the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, we have seen the steady growth of the country’s basketball and how the National teams have continued to achieve new heights.
” At the last Olympic Games in France, the Nigeria Women’s Basketball team, D’Tigress was one of the shining stories for Team Nigeria, where they set a new record by making it to the knockout phase before losing to the United States”.
” I personally know the efforts behind the scenes that kida put in for Nigeria to achieve that feat with the girls in France and the Nigerian girls have been an unrivalled team on the continent for some time now”.
The DG added that he does not doubt that Musa Kida will use his new position to further earnest the development of Nigerian Sports especially basketball especially now that there is a new focus on growing a sustainable Sports Economy.
” Whilst the Oil sector will benefit immensely from the Expertise of Musa Kida as the new Board Chairman of the NNPC Limited, Mr President, has further helped to place Nigerian Sports in a better pedestal by putting one of us in a very strategic place like the NNPC”, he concluded.
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Basketball
FIBA names Nigeria’s Agada among those who starred the most on the last day of the 2025 AfroBasket Qualifiers
The 16 teams that will be competing at this year’s FIBA AfroBasket from 12-24 August have been confirmed, with some teams securing their places on the final day of qualifying.
A quintet of individuals put in stellar performances to send their teams to this year’s African championship in style.
Teams have 169 days to prepare for the 2025 edition of the AfroBasket set to be hosted by former champions Angola, who will be chasing a record-extending 12th title.
FIBA- Africa looked at the matches and the players and featured nine players who were the stars of the final day on Sunday.
Here is FIBA’s analysis: The return of the Tokyo Olympian has been a blessing for Abdulrahman Mohammed’s Nigeria.
For the second game in a row, Agada was a thorn in their side’s side, scoring 23 points in a convincing 77-62 win over 2021 AfroBasket semifinalists Cape Verde.
The 30-year-old played just over 30 minutes and finished two rebounds shy of a double-double while adding six assists and five steals for an efficiency rating of 29.
Nigeria entered the competition after an 0-3 start, but his disruptive presence on the floor helped them to a 3-0 run to qualify, averaging 19 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists.
The other players highlighted are: Ousmane Drame of Guinea, Karim Maneof Senegal, Childe Dundao of Angola, Siriman Kanoute of Mali, as well as Ntore Habimana (Rwanda) Aliou Fadiala Diarra (Mali) Allan Dokossi (Central African Republic)and Nisre Zouzoua (Cote d’Ivoire)
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