Oguchi, coaches want early camping ahead 2017 Afrobasket Championship
Nigeria’s star player and 2015 Most Valuable Player award winner at the Afrobasket Championship in Tunisia, Chamberlain Oguchi has advocated for the need to urgently call the players to camp for preparations ahead of the forthcoming FIBA Afrobasket 2017 scheduled for Angola.
Oguchi made the call in a post on his Twitter handle yesterday.
He said he was looking forward to flying the national flag and hoped that the NBBF would call players to camp soon to let the team get ready to defend their title.
Besides Oguchi, Coach Sanni Ahmed of the Kano Pillars and his Rivers Hoopers counterpart Ogoh Odaudu have equally urged the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) to get the national senior men’s team, D’Tigers, ready for the competition.
The FIBA Afrobasket 2017 fiesta is billed for Luanda, the Capital of Angola from August 19 to 30 where Nigeria’s D’Tigers are expected to defend the title they won in 2015 in Tunisia.
Coach Sanni Ahmed told NAN that the senior national team must begin three months preparation ahead of the competition.
“We expect that players should have been in camp already ahead of the competition. We also expect that things should not be done in a hurry to get the players mentally ready. But, with the Sports Federations’ elections coming up later this month or early in June, when the camp is going to be called is yet to be ascertained.
“This, unfortunately, may affect the preparations and the outcome of the players when they get to Angola to defend their title in August,” Ahmed said.
On his part, Coach Ogoh Odaudu, a former Nigeria international and currently, the Head coach of Rivers Hoopers Basketball team of Port Harcourt, noted that preparations so far had been lackluster.
“I presume as defending champions we should have begun preparations earlier in January, where players would have the opportunity to blend properly.
“Unfortunately, the federation’s election is coming up in June and when a new board comes on, perhaps, a new structure will commence which could have effect on the team,” Odaudu said.