I almost quit Basketball before Afro Basket - Oguchi

D’tigers forward and Afro Basket 2015 Most Valuable Player Chamberlain Oguchi revealed he almost gave up on the game as it became too difficult for him to even watch Basketball games due to issues in his life before Nigeria’s historic triumph in Tunisia few

weeks ago. In a post on Instagram, Oguchi also said the accolades he got for his performances at the continental championship wouldn’t have been possible without his teammates who also contributed immensely to the achievements recorded while in North Africa.

“Not many are aware of the specific trials and tribulations that I was recently faced with in my career (I won’t go into detail). It was by far the most difficult time of my life, I could’ve easily conceded to the pain, suffering, and doubt. Honestly, I almost did, as it hurt to even watch basketball” the 29 year old Anwil Włocławek player wrote

at the beginning of his revealing post.

The former Panteras de Miranda star went on to talk about the factors that saw him through those trying times before his recent emergence as the continent’s best basket baller at this time.

“I let go of everything in my life that didn’t contribute to genuine love and happiness, humbled myself, kept a positive attitude, and worked like I’ve never worked before and fast-forward to present day here proudly stands an Afrobasket 2015 champion, MVP, All Star, Three-Point Champion, and 2x Olympian. William Shakespeare couldn’t have written a better story.”

Oguchi finally went on to encourage struggling athletes to believe in themselves and work hard in order to achieve their set targets “if you continue to believe, surround yourself with love and genuine people, do right by others, and work hard, you can overcome any obstacle. It wasn’t long ago that I doubted if I would ever play basketball again, and now I’m officially the best player in Africa. “Sunny days... Everybody loves them, but can you stand the rain?” the Houston born player concluded in his message which got hundreds of likes on social media.

Nigeria beat Angola 74-65 in the Final of the AfroBasket 2015 in Rades to claim their first-ever African championship.

Oguchi was rewarded for his impressive tournament and huge individual performance as he hit a trifecta of three-pointers on his way to a game high 19 points for Nigeria.

He headlined the All-Star Five which also included his Nigeria team-mate Al-Farouq Aminu, Morais of Angola, Tunisia’s Makram Ben Romdhane and Gorgui Dieng of Senegal.

D’tigers have now qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics with Second placed Angola joined third and fourth placed Tunisia and Senegal in booking their places for the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.