The Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Hon. Bukola Olopade, has charged Nigeria’s Senior Men’s Basketball Team, D’Tigers, to put up a strong and committed performance at the final window of the Afrobasket Qualifiers in Libya.
Through the support of the NSC, the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) successfully facilitated the team’s arrival in Tripoli for the crucial qualifiers.
Olopade said; “I am sure the NBBF and the coaching crew have selected a very strong and technically balanced squad for the country, blending both foreign-based and home-based players.
“Basketball is one of our traditional sports as a country, and we have had tremendous success over the years. It is, therefore, essential to continue giving it the attention it deserves from the Commission.”
Olopade also emphasised the NSC’s broader commitment to developing all sports, under the leadership of Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko.
“At the Commission, I want to reiterate that the Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko, and I are fully committed to the growth of all sports, and we will continue to exemplify this through proper preparations for all our national teams at international competitions.”
“There has been a paradigm shift since the rebirth of the Sports Commission, with detailed attention given to every sport. We demonstrated this with cricket when our U-19 girls played at the World Cup in Malaysia earlier this year and, more recently, with badminton at the All Africa Championship in Cameroon, among others.”
The DG also called on Nigerians to rally behind D’Tigers, expressing confidence in the team’s ability to embody the competitive spirit that defines Nigerian sports.
Nigeria’s final 12-man squad for the qualifiers in Tripoli will be led by two Olympians—Caleb Agada and team captain Ike Nwamu—as they battle for a place in the Afrobasket tournament.