Dare predicts basketball revolution in Nigeria

THE recent impressive performance of the national basketball team, D’tigers, is an indication there will soon be a revolution in the development of the Nigerian game, Youth and Sports Development Minister, Sunday Dare, has said. Speaking when Nigerian Basketball Federation ( NBBF) President, Musa Kida, visited him yesterday, after Nigeria’s victory at the just concluded Afrobasket qualifiers in Kigali, Rwanda, Dares said, “My position is consistent that beyond football, Nigeria has talents and competences in several other sports and our ascendancy in basketball is no longer stoppable. That ascendancy has been proven. We are Africa’s champions in both men and women categories, we are headed to the Olympics, it has never happened before and that shows that beyond football, basketball has come to stay. We are a dominant force in the world.

“We are happy that our team is in the hands of good administrators and managers. Beyond the good talents that we have put together, we also need capable hands to manage them. These are the people that have set their eyes on a greater glory on the podium performance and I am sure many other Nigerians will join the basketball revolution.”

Dare reiterated his commitment to grassroots sports development, saying, “We hope to have effective grassroots penetration of basketball youngsters to start a project that would have a basketball court in at least one senatorial district in the country.

“This is a commitment that is being shared by the NBBF and the Federal Ministry of Sports.”

Earlier, Kida told the minister that Nigeria’s ascendance in basketball was made possible by good planning, commitment of the players and engagement of one of the best coaches in the NBA.

At the Afrobasket qualifiers in Rwanda, D’tigers’ defeated South Sudan, Rwanda and Mali to top Group B of the series.