Tag D’Tigers2019 FIBA World Cup

Preparations
By Babatunde Ogunrinde
Lagos, Aug. 15, 2019 (NAN) Alex Nwora, the Head Coach of D’Tigers, on Thursday in lagos said his team was confident of going beyond the quarter-final stage of the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China.

“We have quality players who are performing at the top level in Europe and the U.S, and we have played some friendly matches against some top sides. Indeed we are very confident of making it to the podium.

“We played against two teams also heading to the World Cup, Canada and the Dominican Republic, and having won three games out four times we met all is indeed good for our team spirit,’’ he said.

Nwora however promised that his team would have to continue working hard because the task ahead was very huge.

“However, we just have to continue to work hard as the World Cup is no playground and there are no easy teams. We just have to fight hard to get past the group stage and beyond,’’ he said.

The coach however expressed his team’s gratitude to the Nigeria Basketball federation (NBBF).

“We say a big `thank you’ to the federations, as it has done well to ensure we continue to get the best preparationss since as far back as July when we started out in New York,” Nwora said.

Speaking also, team captain Ike Diogu said his team was ready to do the nation proud.

“So far so good, the training process has been really good.

“There is a lot of cohesion in the team. The games we played against the Dominican Republic and Canada have proved how competitive we are and our level of readiness.

“Also, we have a high number of Europe-based players and other quality players from the NBA in the U.S. Indeed, we are ready for the World Cup.

“When we play, we play as a team for the country and for Africa as a whole. We look forward to the competition with keen interest, and we fear nobody,” Diogu said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that D’Tigers, Nigeria’s senior men national basketball team, have been finalising their preparations for the World Cup at the National Stadium in Lagos.

They have been drawn in Group B alongside Russia, Argentina and South Korea at the competition which gets underway on Aug. 31 and ends on Sept.15.(NAN)
BAO/DEB/OLAL
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(Edited by Debo Oshundun and Olawale Alabi)

Draw
Abuja, March 16, 2019 (NAN) Nigeria’s senior national male basketball team, D’Tigers, will face Russia, Argentina and South Korea at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, following the draw conducted on Saturday at Shenzhen in China.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Draw was presented by Wanda, before a crowd of 8,000 spectators at the Shenzhen Bay Arena.

The draw sets out the path for the 32 participating teams in their journey to be crowned world champions in FIBA’s flagship competition on Sept. 15.

D’Tigers have been drawn in Group B and will play their group games in Wuhan, with familiar foes Argentina looking for now to be their biggest opponents.

In Nigeria’s first appearance at the global stage, the South Americans beat them 68-51 in their Group D game at the 1998 edition of the 16-team FIBA World Championship in Greece.

D’Tigers lost all three group matches, but finally finished 13th in the competition which is now known as the FIBA World Cup, after winning their two classification matches.

Their classification phase semi-final game was against South Korea, now their Group B opponents in China, and they won 89-65, before going on to beat Japan.

Argentina were 98-64 winners when both sides met in Group A at the championship’s 2006 edition in Japan, where D’Tigers finished 14th or joint 9th among 24 teams.

They had finished third earlier in their group, after two wins and three losses, but a 77-78 loss to Germany in the Round of 16 ended their campaign.

Fellow west Africans Cote d’Ivoire are in Group A alongside Poland, Venezuela and hosts China, and will play their games in the Chinese capital city of Beijing.

Senegal are drawn in Group H to face Canada, Lithuania and Australia in Dongguan, while defending champions U.S. are in Group E based in Shanghai with Turkey, Czech Republic and Japan.

Group D, which has another African country in Angola, will play in Foshan, with Serbia, Italy and the Philippines completing the group.

Tunisia are placed in Group C, along with the Republic of Ireland, Tunisia and Portugal, and will be based in Guangzhou.

Group F has Greece, New Zealand, Brazil and Montenegro amd will play in Nanjing, while the Dominican Republic, France Germany and Jordan will do battle at Shenzhen in Group G.

Global sporting icon and FIBA World Cup Ambassador Kobe Bryant, together with American best-selling singer/songwriter Jason Derulo, headlined the event.

The milestone event on the Road to China 2019 took place under the watchful eyes of FIBA President Horacio Muratore, FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis and representatives from the 32 participating national teams.

Group A – Beijing

Cote d’Ivoire
Poland
Venezuela
China

Group B – Wuhan

Russia
Argentina
South Korea
Nigeria

Group C – Guangzhou

Spain
Republic of Ireland
Puerto Rico
Tunisia

Group D – Foshan

Angola
The Philippines
Italy
Serbia

Group E – Shanghai

Turkey
Czech Republic
U.S.
Japan

Group F – Nanjing

Greece
New Zealand
Brazil
Montenegro

Group G – Shenzhen

France
Dominican Republic
Germany
Jordan

Group H – Dangguan

Canada
Senegal
Lithuania
Australia
(NAN)
KIA/OLAL
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)