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  Having featured for D’Tigers on multiple occasions especially at the AfroBasket and national 3×3 team levels, no one understands the depth of hard work needed for a Nigerian basketball player to make the final roster for the 2021 Afrobasket Qualifiers like Abdul Yahaya. With the D’Tigers pitched alongside Mali, Rwanda, and Algeria in the Group D of qualifiers, Yahaya is optimistic of the chances of Nigeria making it to the AfroBasket 2021 due to the abundance of talents both home and abroad for the African giants. Yahaya believes that early preparations will aid the team’s bid to qualify for the tournament, and is confident that basketball players who ply their trade in Nigeria can get the job done.
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“We just have to prepare early. I recall that the team that went for AfroCan 2019 only had just two days to prepare for the tournament. You can’t just expect the guys to prepare in two days and perform wonders. I know the players from home are talented enough to get the job done. In the history of basketball in the country, it has always been the job of the home-based players to qualify the country for AfroBasket.” Abdul Yahaya
Commenting further, 30-year-old Yahaya described Nigeria as the ‘best team in Africa,’ but cautioned that other African teams are raising their game to contest Nigeria’s number one spot in the continent.  The 2.02m (6ft 8in) forward who plies his trade in Ivory Coast with Abidjan Basketball Club in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) also believes that D’Tigers and D’Tigress will also impress at the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics which has been rescheduled to hold in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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“Nigeria is the best team in Africa. I mean, go check FIBA rankings. Numbers don’t lie but other countries are not sleeping. Senegal, for instance, will be a force to reckon with because they have invested so much into basketball lately….At the Olympics, I am confident that our men and women teams will be a team to be reckoned with. They cannot be taken for granted because Nigeria has world-class players everywhere and they will come home to represent us. Additionally, the Nigeria Basketball Federation has assembled tested coaches to work with the teams and that on its own speaks volumes.” Yahaya
Source: FIBA Featured Image Source: The Guardian NG
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This article was first published on 24th August 2020

ugo-chinedu

I am a Lion, I love to hit heights that seem impossible so I can motivate others and prove doubters wrong. For me, impossible is nothing. I'm open to learning and I love to read, travel and meet new faces.

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