D’Tigers arrive Nigeria for final preparation

Coach Sam Vincent is expected to lead the senior national team, D’Tigers who have being in camp in far away United States of America to Nigeria Wednesday for its final lap of preparation for the Japan 2006 world cup qualifiers. Making this known to www.eurobasket.com in Lagos is the head of technical committee of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, Dr. Adamu Ahmed, who said it is necessary to give Nigerians and the army of basketball fans the opportunity to catch a glimpse of what the national team looks like. The team made up of an entire foreign based players is expected to arrive Lagos Wednesday night and move straight to Abuja where they are to camp for the remaining part of it preparation for the Africa Championship holding in Algeria from August 14 through 24. Nigeria is in group-A along side host Algeria, North Africa giant, Tunisia, West Africa basketball power house Mali, Central Africa dominant team Gabon and Mozambique from the South Africa region. Four teams are expected to make it to the knockout stage with Nigeria as the team to beat in group-A. Dr. Adamu expressed confidence that nothing would stop Nigeria from the title this time, also confident of a good outing at the FIBA Africa Championship is D’Tigers former handler and Comets basketball club proprietor, Ayo Bakare who urged the team and the coaching crew of Vincent and Ayinla Johnson to be more proactive in approaching each game. Though Bakare expressed reservation with the introduction of quarter-finals into the championship, according to him, ‘it would a little tough but the handlers must do everything to play safe since teams don’t have to exact too much energy in picking a quarter-final ticket but should be wise enough to instruct the players to save their best for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final’. It is, however, not clear as to how many home based players would be invited to the camp especially at the perimeter position where the likes of Abdulrahman Mohammed, Ogo Odaudu, Baba Jibril and Priwitt Gagara have proved themselves worthy in the Atlantic conference leg of the Vmobile challenge. The first three teams at the championship will carry the continent’s flag at the 2006 world championship to be stage in Japan.
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