Joe Apu
President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Musa Kida has told D’ Tigers to keep their heads high as they battle Uganda, Rwanda and Mali at the FIBA World Cup 2019 qualifiers in Bamako, Mali.
Speaking in Lagos on Sunday, Kida said that given the talent base available to Nigeria, he is sure D’ Tigers would come out tops but warned that they must take every game seriously.
“My expectation clearly is that given the potentials available to Nigeria, I don’t our team faltering; we are good to come out tops against the teams on ground in Mali.”
Going by recent records, D’ Tigers are expected to enjoy an easy ride against less fancied side like Rwanda who only managed just a win in their group at the 2017 AfroBasket where they finished 10th out of the 16 participating teams.
For Uganda, despite starting on a strong note against Angola which they eventually lost to in overtime, they were not able to win any of their group games as they limped to a 13th place finish. Mali who were grouped alongside Nigeria at the tournament finished 9th.
On the FIBA World Cup for women in Spain, Kida stated that the NBBF has already set machinery in motion for the team and believes that the Nigerian girls would be ready for the championship.