TheCable

D’Tigers will begin camping for the FIBA World Cup qualifiers on June 19 in Lagos under the supervision of head coach, Alex Nwora.

Chimezie Asiegbu, secretary general of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), made this known to TheCable on Tuesday.

The team was initially meant to camp in Buffalo, US, but according to Babatunde Ogunade, NBBF vice-president, after considering all indices, the team will now camp in Lagos.

“We had planned to open the camp in Buffalo but good thinking has advised that we shouldn’t and that we camp in Lagos,” Ogunade said.

He explained that the federation wanted the team to train together for a longer period, but due to the club commitments of the players and the financial implication, “the boys will stay in camp for just 10 days”.

He added: “We have a long list of players. Most of our players are in the middle of different competitions with their clubs abroad.

“Of course, we are struggling with cash, so overall, we are looking at 10 days of camping.”

Nigeria is currently leading Group B and will hope to maintain their winning run when they file out against Uganda on June 29.

Their second game of the window will be against Rwanda on June 30 before facing Mali on July 1.

With invited players already contacted and their availability confirmed, the squad list is expected to be released next week.