NAN-S-6
Basketball
By Babatunde Ogunrinde
Lagos Aug. 12, 2017 (NAN) Sam Vincent, Head Coach, Senior Women’s National Basketball Team, D’Tigress, has expressed optimism on the team’s chances of claiming the forthcoming Afrobasket Women’s Championship in Mali.
Vincent told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after the team’s drilling section at the National Stadium, Lagos that the players were mentally ready to challenge any other for the tile.
NAN reports that the 2017 Afrobasket Women’s Championship is scheduled to hold from Aug. 18 to Aug. 27.
Vincent said: “We have the capacity to do well at the coming championship, we have really good chemistry in the team, the home-based talents and the international players are just awesome.
“We brought some from our camp in Orlando, U.S, and sincerely, I feel great about what Coach Peter Ahmedu has achieved with the home-based after watching them train.
“Offensively, the girls know what we want from them, at the defence they are also fantastic, so I feel very positive about the quality we have and very confident of achieving our goals.
“Our plans is to go and achieve success in Mali and hopefully come back with the championship’s trophy and get back to plans for the next summer Olympics,’’ Vincent said.
NAN reports that after the training session ended, the number of the girls was reduced from 19 to 14 which consist of a great number of home-based players.
The current players slogging it out to make the final list are Aisha Mohammed, Cecelia Okoye, Adaora Eloonu, Ndidi Madu, Ezinne Kalu Phelps and Sarah Ogoke.
Others are Nkeshi Akashili, Magadalene Ukato, Upe Atosu, Adaeze Alaeze, Sarah Ogoke, Nkem Akaraigwe, Chioma Udeaja and Ugo Uwaigbe.
Nigeria’s women’s team would be working their socks to go two steps better than their third place performance in the 2015 edition after losing to host country Cameroon in the quarter-finals. (NAN)
BAO/ENN/PDE
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(Edited Edwin Nwachukwu/Peter Ejiofor)