Nwora leads D’Tigers to 2017 Afrobasket
Former Cape Verde national team coach Alex Nwora will be leading African champions Nigeria to this year’s afro basketball championship will be co-hosted by Tunisia and Senegal from September 8 to September 16.
The information was released yesterday via the twitter handle of Nigerian Basketball (@NigeriaBasket) which normally carries the latest news from the world of the sport especially as it relates to Nigeria.
The future of coach Will Voight who inspired Nigeria to the 2015 edition of the tournament in Gabon remains unclear as there have been speculations that the American hasn’t been happy with the way the sport is treated with laxity in Nigeria.
Former international player Nwora, for many years resided in the United States of America, where he played professionally for some of the biggest sides in the National Basketball Association (NBA) before his foray into coaching.
Meanwhile, D’Tigers forward Stan Okoye is optimistic about the chances of D’Tigers qualifying for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup billed for China
The reigning Afrobasket champions were drawn in Group along with Mali, Uganda and Rwanda for the qualifiers scheduled to hold in China from 31st August to the 15th of September 2017.
Okoye who last featured for Italian team, Amici Pallacanestro Udinese in the Serie A2, says the real test for D’Tigers will come in the elimination round.
“I saw [the draw] and I think the pool that we are in is good for us as far as seeding,” the 26-year-old noted.
“But we won’t face a real challenge until the actual elimination round which I’m not sure is the best for us, but we will succeed either way,” he said.