D’Tigers’ coach, Ayo Bakare, has expressed readiness to win the Afrobasket when the tournament dunks off in Abidjan, Cote d’ Ivoire.
Bakare, who booked a spot for D’ Tigers at the London Olympics, said: “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the country once again.
“There are other good coaches who can do the job.
“Anybody could have been picked to handle the job.
“However, with the caliber of coaches I have as assistants, I am confident that we will achieve better results at the end of the day.
“There are many competitive teams coming for the competition.
“It is not a competition where you can underrate any team.
“We have Angola, current champions Tunisia, and many other new teams that can spring surprises, but we are confident that we will achieve better results at the end of the day.”
The domestic-based assistants are Sani Ahmed of Kano, Yusuf Ayinla of Union Bank, Abdulrahman Mohamed of Mark Mentors of Abuja and Ogoh Odaudu of Royal Hoopers of Port Harcourt.
The Comets of Lagos handler further stated that the aim is to capture gold in Ivory Coast while a top-three finish is needed to claim a place at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Nigeria will play in Group D with Cameroon, Republic of Congo and Mali.
Meanwhile, the national team has been holding a training camp in Abuja with 12 domestic-based players involved.
The players in camp are: Abubakar Usman, Matthew Onmonya (both Kano Pillars), Stanley Gumut, Michael Ohiero, Andulwahab Yahaya (all Mark Mentors), Mohammed Baba Shehu (Niger Potters), Victor James Ugo, Nkem Ojougboh (both Comets), Azuoma Dike (Dodan Warriors), Louis Edem Ekpeyong (Union Bank), Kayode Balogun (Islanders) and Victor Atisele (Royal Hoopers).
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