Idris Adesina
Nigeria’s women national basketball team D’Tigress have said no team would stop them from winning their third title when the Mali 2017 FIBA Africa Championship for Women begins on Friday.
The team, who won the title twice in 2003 and 2005, arrived Mali on Wednesday.
Nigeria, who finished third in the 2015 edition, are making their 10th appearance at the Afrobasket women’s tourney. They will compete in Group B along with 2015 champions Senegal, Egypt, Guinea, DR Congo and Mozambique and start their campaign against the Mozambicans on Saturday.
Captain of the team, Aisha Mohammed, and head coach, Sam Vincent, said they were not in Mali to underrate any opponent, adding that no team would scare them on the way to winning the title.
Mohammed said the team want to make history by winning their third title, as well as qualifying for the World Cup.
“We have one thing going for us – team spirit and chemistry. We have bonded well and are in high spirits. We are not afraid of any other team in the competition. Senegal are strong likewise Angola but we are ready for them,” Mohammed said.
“The title and World Cup qualification is paramount to us because we want to play in Spain in 2018. There are only two slots for Africa at the World Cup and Nigeria cannot be left out. The World Cup is a big stage and Nigeria is a big country, which should not be left out.”
Vincent said the team have worked on the mistakes of 2015 and won’t repeat same.
He said, “It is a good thing that we have some of the players from 2015. They have been there and know what it is to lose by a point. Those mistakes have been identified and the motivation for this set of players is very high.
“I am not new to African basketball and I know that the game has evolved so well that no team should be underrated. That is why we won’t underrate any team and any team that underrate us would surely have themselves to blame. Nigerians should watch our first game and from then judge if we are good for the title or not.”
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