D’Tigers in waiting mode as FIBA World Cup draw holds in 8 days

Nigeria men’s basketball team, D’Tigers are waiting to know their group opponents when the FIBA World Cup draw holds in Shenzhen, China on Saturday, March 16, 2019.

The team, who were the first to book a spot at the competition, will be making their 3rd appearance after a 12 -year absence since 2006.

The mundial is billed to hold between August 31st and September 15th.

Speaking ahead of the draws, coach Alex Nwora said “Nothing good comes easy and I am waiting to see the teams that will be drawn against us.

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“The 32 teams which have qualified for the World Cup have the potential to win the championship, so no country can be underrated.

“This is a historic moment for me as the head coach and as a Nigerian.

“Before the qualifiers started, nobody knew that we would have qualified with 4 games left to play and also as the best team in Africa. Nobody could have thought that we were going to be the first team in the world to qualify, but here we are.”

Also, the NBBF President, Engr Musa Ahmadu Kida said: “No matter who we are drawn up against, we are going to the World cup with the belief that we can surprise the world.”

Meanwhile, host- China, USA, Spain, France, Serbia, Argentina, Lithuania and Greece have all been announced as top seeds by FIBA.

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