TheCable

The Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF) has released a provisional list for the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.

Out of the 18 players invited, five are from the 2017 AfroBasket silver-winning team, while three home-based players were also included.

The home-based players include Eli Abraham of Kano Pillars, Abdulwahab Yakubu of Gombe Bulls, and Musa Usman Mohammed of Mark Mentors.

The qualifiers will hold in Bamako, Mali, from February 23 to 25. Nigeria was drawn in Group B alongside Mali, Rwanda and Uganda.

Musa Kida, NBBF president, said: “We are expecting players from Europe, North America, South America and Asia, so we thought it wise that instead of going through the travelling stress ahead of the qualifiers, they should just report straight to Bamako.”

Alex Nwora, the head coach, is optimistic about his team’s chances of qualifying from the group.

“Active players in their clubs who are available have been invited to represent Nigeria. We have a very formidable team that I believe will sail through,” Nwora said.

Nwora lamented that the FIBA World Cup qualifying competition is taking place in February when leagues across the world are already in full swing, hence it may be difficult to