Aminu, Metu, Okogie highlight Nigeria's final roster for FIBA Basketball World Cup
WUHAN (China) - With just a few days to go until action tips off in China, an exciting Nigeria team and head coach Alex Nwora announced their final roster for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.
WUHAN (China) - With just a few days to go until action tips off in China, an exciting Nigeria team and head coach Alex Nwora announced their final roster for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.
The 12 players that were selected include team captain Ike Diogu and Al-Farouq Aminu leading Nigeria's charge alongside other stars Ekpe Udoh (Utah Jazz), Josh Okogie (Minnesota Timberwolves), Chimezie Metu (San Antonio Spurs).
| Nigeria's final roster for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 | |||
| Ike Diogu | Michael Eric | Josh Okogie | Stanley Okoye |
| Al Farouq Aminu | Chimezie Metu | Ike Iroegbu | Talib Zanna |
| Ben Uzoh | Ekpe Udoh | Jordan Nwora | Vincent Gabriel Nnamdi |
Others on the list are Stanley Okoye, Jordan Nwora, Zana Talib, Ben Uzoh, Ike Iroegbu, Michael Eric and Vincent Gabriel Nnamdi.
The Nigerian team is made up of entirely players that are playing in their first World Cup and team captain Diogu says it's an additional motivation. Diogu said the chance to be at the World Cup means everything to the members of the squad.
"It means a lot because none of us has played in the World Cup. The one time we had a chance of qualifying was in 2013 and we lost in the Quarter-Finals of the AfroBasket. This is the first time for us all and we want to make sure we do something special," he said.
"We have got a lot of good young players and we are all excited to represent Nigeria in the right way. We are preparing very well and we expect to have a successful outing at the World Cup. Individually we know how good we are. We have a good collection of NBA talents and high-level Europe-based talents. We just have to play collectively, as a group, and I guess we should be fine against everybody else."
THE CAPTAIN!!
— D’Tigers | Nigeria Basketball (@NigeriaBasket) August 25, 2019
Ike Diogu’s dagger three put the game away against Montenegro. pic.twitter.com/9JpuOKIIh1
An 89-86 victory on Sunday in China confirmed Nigeria as winners, a follow up from the 87-84 win over Poland. The Alex Nwora-coached team will now look forward to their opener against Russia on August 31.
The number one ranked team in Africa made its debut at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 1998 in Athens, Greece while their last appearance was in 2006 where the team got eliminated in the Round of 16.
FIBA