Alex Nwora, head coach of the Nigerian national basketball team has announced the 12-man final list for the FIBA Basketball World Cup that is about to begin on August 31 in China. This may be the strongest lineup in the history of the team.
The list goes as follows:
Ike Diogu (center), Al Farouq Aminu (forward), Ben Uzoh (guard), Michael Eric (center), Ekpe Udoh (center), Josh Okogie (guard), Ike Iroegbu (guard), Chimezie Metu (forward), Jordan Nwora (forward), Stanley Okoye (guard), Talib Zanna (forward), Vincent Gabriel Nnamdi (guard)
Though the team are expected to rely on NBA players Aminu (Orlando Magic), Okogie (Minnesota Timberwolves), Metu (San Antonio Spurs) and former NBA center Udoh who just joined the CBA's Beijing Ducks, Nigeria's true pillar is till 35-year-old Diogu. He played all 12 qualifier games for Nigeria and averaged 15.5 points and 6.3 rebounds.
Nigeria made it back to the World Cup (World Championships) as No. 1 from Africa (10-2). The last edition they attended was in 2006 in Japan where they were knocked out in the Round of 16 by Germany. The tournament changed its name to World Cup in 2014. So technically, no Nigerian player has played at the World Cup.
Ike Diogu #6 of Nigeria handles the ball to break in the game against Brazil at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, August 15, 2016. /VCG Photo
"It (entering the World Cup) means a lot because none of us has played in the World Cup. The one time we had a chance of qualifying was in 2013 and we lost in the quarter-finals of the AfroBasket. This is the first time for us all and we want to make sure we do something special," said Diogu.
Nigeria is in Group B with Argentina, Russia and South Korea. They will meet their first opponent Russia at the Wuhan Sports Center on August 31.
"We have got a lot of good young players and we are all excited to represent Nigeria in the right way. We are preparing very well and we expect to have a successful outing at the World Cup. Individually we know how good we are. We have a good collection of NBA talents and high-level Europe-based talents. We just have to play collectively, as a group, and I guess we should be fine against everybody else," said Diogu.