This communique follows the performance of Nigeria’s senior male national basketball team, D’Tigers, on Friday the 23rd February 2024 in Monastir, Tunisia, in the ongoing Window-1 of the 2025 FIBA Afrobasket Qualifiers.
The Board of the NBBF is indeed happy with the performance of the team, the D’Tigers, along with the technical staff, and hailed their resilience despite losing by 82 points to 89, after overtime in their first match to Libya, despite all the challenges leading to their participation in the qualifiers.
We applaud their patriotic dedication to the call to serve country, which was confirmed at extremely short notice, despite the challenges and unavailability of some other players of the team, who were withdrawn by their professional teams during the period of uncertainty that surrounded the participation of the team in the ongoing qualifiers.
The NBBF Board also expresses its sincere and genuine gratitude and appreciation to the Honorable Minister of Sports Development, Sen.John Owan Enoh, for finally giving his consent for the team to participate in the all important Afrobasket qualifiers in Tunisia, and directing the prosecution of a tournament of this magnitude.
The NBBF also expressed its immense appreciation to its various vendors and creditors for helping to facilitate the participation of the national team in the tournament, by providing all the necessary logistical support, even at such razor thin short notice, despite our present over drawn lines with them for a few years now.
NBBF therefore, expresses its confidence in the abilities of D’Tigers to come up good in subsequent matches, by improving on their game in facing the next opponents. NBBF enjoins all Nigerians to rally round the team, as the D’Tigers continue in their quest make Nigeria proud and to qualify our nation for the 2025 Afrobasket championship.
The NBBF thanked its teeming fans accross the country and around the world for their unwavering support and assured them that no efforts will be spared, to ensure that all possible be put in place, by the Ministry and NBBF to ensure a seamless execution of the tournament.
The D’Tigers will play its second match against Uganda on Saturday, 24th of February, 2024 at 2pm as they push for a 2025 Afrobasket championship ticket.
Story Credit: Manasseh Osamuyimen Bassey
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