D’Tigers need early AfroBasket preparation – Gombe Bulls coach
Gombe Bulls basketball club’s coach, Samson John, has called for early commencement of preparations for Nigeria’s national team, D’Tigers, ahead of the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket Championship in Angola.
Speaking after Nigeria secured qualification for the continental tournament, John stressed that the journey has just begun for the team that got the better of Uganda and Cape Verde and hosted Libya during the last qualification tournament.
“We’ve already qualified, and now what next? Everything in Nigeria is not on time. It’s always late and sharp-sharp. But, this is a major competition, and everyone in the federation should think about how to make early preparations,” John said.
The coach emphasised that Nigeria needs to do better than their shaky performance at the 2021 edition and return to the sterling form that saw them emerge champions in 2015, adding that only early planning by the Nigeria Basketball Federation will see D’Tigers excel at the tournament.
“I also expect that we should change one of two players in the team, as we are moving forward,” the soft-spoken slam-dunk expert added.
D’Tigers completed their qualification campaign in impressive fashion, beating Cape Verde 77-62 in their final match to finish the second qualifying window with a perfect record after earlier victories against Libya (75-70) and Uganda (87-67).
The qualification represents a remarkable turnaround for the Nigerian team, who had made a mess of their first phase of qualifiers last year, losing all three matches before embarking on a redemption mission in Libya.
Caleb Agada was instrumental in Nigeria’s qualification, scoring a game-high 20 points against Uganda while adding seven assists and three steals. He also recorded a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds in the crucial win over Libya.
The 2025 AfroBasket Championship is scheduled to be held from August 12 to 24 in the Angolan cities of Luanda, Benguela and Namibe, with Nigeria hoping to win their second continental title after their triumph in 2015.
Nigeria’s men’s basketball team has an impressive record in the tournament, having not missed any of the last 10 editions and accumulating one gold medal, four silver medals, and three bronze medals in their AfroBasket history.
