Nigeria to starts Nations Campaign in USA

The first phase of the camping, according to the programme of activities, submitted by D’Tigers Chief Coach, Sam Vincent, and approved by the NBBF board that met in Abuja last week, began in Cleveland, Ohio, USA from May 24 to 29, 2005 with another camping in Atlanta, Georgia from June 16 to 30, 2005.

After these camping programmes, the team will take part in the Las Vegas Invitational tournament from July 8-22, 2005 with another camping in Atlanta, Georgia, immediately after the tune up tournament. D’Tigers on its way to Algiers, venue of the continental tournament, will have stopover games in an unnamed European country from August 8-11 for the championship slated for 15-28 August 2005.

As the D’Tigers camping is on, the National U-21 men team, J’Tigers, participating in the World U-21 Championship holding in Argentina also in August, begins its camping in Zaria 3rd July 2005 before its participation in the Dallas Invitational tournament in the USA from 25-30 July 2005. Preparations for the defense of the African Nations Cup for women it won in 2003 in Maputo, Mozambique, also begins in 3rd July 2005 like the U-21 team, but in Abuja before embarking on training tour of the US 2nd October. The championship holds in Abuja from November 14 to 30 2005.

Meanwhile the NBBF board has resolved to consolidate on the achievements of the immediate past board by pursuing additional sponsorship openings that would benefit developmental (age-group) programmes in the country, even as it promised additional commitments to all aspects of the sport.

A release signed by the federation head of Media/Publicity Committee, Alhaji Tijjani Umar, note in part “that the new board acknowledge the gains recorded by the immediate past board of the federation in the advancement of the basketball programmes, specifically the breakthrough achieved in sponsorship deals for the various programmes, namely the Premier League, Division-one league and the Universities League.”

The federation agreed on the need to build on the capacity of the relevant basketball stakeholders-players, coaches, referees and administrators as a way of elevating the standard and the quality of the game, noting that, as a first step, it approved two clinics-FIBA-Africa zonal referees clinic and FIBA-Africa young coaches clinic both billed for Abuja from 6-12 June 2005.