Nigeria’s representative, D’ Tigers, began their campaign at the ongoing Afrobasket 2013 in Cote d’ Ivoire on a bright note as they defeated their Malian counterparts 74-59 in the first group game.
The Malian gave Nigeria a big fight in the third quarter, which ended 47-46 in favour of the Segun Bakare-tutored side, before heaven was let loose in favour of the D’ Tigers.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s forward Ike Diogu says the team is not under any pressure as the players and the technical crew have resolve to continue with the spirit of the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in the summer of 2012, where Nigeria shocked the world to book a place in the 12-team roster of the London 2013 Olympic Games.
Diogu, who played in two separate leagues this season (China and Puerto Rico), believes Nigeria has what it takes to win the African title for the first time but was quick to add that the team will approach each game as they come.
He said: “Surely we are here for business and having half of the players that featured at the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament and the London 2012 Olympic Games is a plus to us and we are going to adopt same spirit that saw the team pick an Olympic Games ticket ahead of strong opposition in the summer of 2012 in Caracas Venezuela.”
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