Head coach of Nigerian women basketball team, Otis Hugely, has unveiled his preliminary squad list for the FIBA Women’s Olympics Qualifying Tournament which will hold from February 6-9, 2020, in Belgrade, Serbia.
In a bid to reach the team’s target of Olympic qualification, D’Tigress coach is leaving nothing to chance as the back-to-back African champions commence full preparations for the final qualification event in the Serbian capital. The list comprises 14 players who ply their trade in the domestic and international levels.
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Drawn in Group A alongside fellow African side, Mozambique, hosts, Serbia, and USA, Hugely has included two more players to the 12-woman rooster that represented the West African nation at the FIBA Women’s Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament Africa 2019 in Maputo, Mozambique. Murjanatu Musa, who was instrumental in helping Air Warriors of Abuja reach their first ever Nigerian topflight league, and was named MVP, alongside Louisville University guard, Elizabeth Balogun, who could not make it to the Maputo contest owing to her school’s refusal to release her for the tournament. They have both been handed a chance to be part of the team in February 2020.
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Team regulars like Captain, Adaora Elenu, FIBA Africa Women’s AfroBasket 2019 MVP, Ezinne Kalu, and Evelyn Akhator are expected to lead the charge when the team takes on the world in Serbia.
FULL LIST
Upe Atosu
Aisha Balarabe
Ifunanya Ibekwe
Murjanatu Musa
Evelyn Akhator
Elisabeth Balogun
Sarah Imovbioh
Atonye Nyingifa
Pallas Kunaiyi Akpannah
Elo Edeferioka
Ezinne Kalu
Promise Amukamara
Adaora Elonu
Victoria Macauley
Source:
Fiba.basketball
Featured Image Source: The Guardian
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