Basketball
NWORA INVITES 15 PLAYERS FOR FIBA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
D’Tigers Head Coach, Alex Nwora has invited 15 players for the last window of the 2019 FIBA Men’s World Cup qualifiers taking place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire starting on the 18th of February
The team is dominated by players who missed out of the last phase of the qualifiers campaign hosted in Lagos.
Jekiri Tonye will likely make his debut for D’Tigers after missing out of action in the last window due to administrative reasons while Christopher Obekpa, Obinna Emegano and Efevhera Michael will also be making a return.
Ekene Ibekwe whose last appearance was at the 2016 Olympics in Rio and 34 year old Michael Umeh (2015 Afrobasket) with Italian serie A side Virtus Bologna have both been recalled to the fold.
Team captain and Sichuan Blue Whales player, Ike Diogu alongside, Stanley Okoye, Alade Aminu, Iroegbu Ike, Ike Nwamu, Ayodeji Akindele, Mbamalu Bryant, Zana Talib and Braxton Ogbueze complete the list of players invited
Nigeria will battle host- Côte d’Ivoire, Central African Republic and second placed Senegal with 16 points.
Currently ranked 33 in the world and first in Africa, the D’Tigers on a 9 match unbeaten run according to Nwora will hope to finish the campaign on a high a boost the team’s rating before the World Cup draws.
Alex Nwora said the preparation for the 2019 World Cup in China has started in earnest and it was imperative to give more quality players equal opportunity to fight for shirts.
“We were the first country in the world to qualify for the World Cup and it is very important that we start our preparation early.”
“The journey to get the team ready for the World Cup is a long one, but I am happy with the progress we have made so far.”
According to the Secretary General of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Chimezie Asiegbu, players and Technical crew are expected to fly straight to Abidjan from the clubs for logistics reasons.
Invited players
Iroegbu Ike (Science City Jena, Germany)
Michael Umeh (Twarde Pieniki, Poland)
Ike Nwamu (Wisconsin Herd, USA)
Ekene Ibekwe (Levallois Metropolitan, France)
Efevhera Michael (Homemtmen Basketball Club, Lebanon)
Stanley Okoye (Tecynconta Zaragoza, Spain)
Diogu Ike (Sichuan Blue Whales, China)
Alade Aminu (Hapoel SP Tel Aviv, Israel)
Christopher Obekpa (Al Riyadh, Lebanon)
Ayodeji Akindele (Fuerza Regia Basquetbol, Lebanon)
Jekiri Tonye (Gaziantep, Turkey)
Obinna Emegano (Rouen Basket, France)
Mabamalu Bryant (CD Vildivia, Chile)
Zana Talib (Montakit Fuenlabrada, Spain) Braxton Ogbueze (Basquet Coruna, Spain
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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