NEW YORK (USA) - Nigeria guard Jeremiah Mordi left Kigali disappointed, especially after former African champions' loss to Uganda in the Qualifier to the Quarter-Finals Round, but he says he looks forward to facing Uganda again. 

The 28-year-old, who last played for French side Caen Nord Basket, is yet to recover from that infamous loss of Nigeria, a team that was regarded as title contenders.

The defeat to Uganda left a heartbreak to many followers of D'Tigers.

Mordi was taken by his Nigerian parents to the US when he was a five-year- old, but at no time he imagined that he would suit up for Team USA. Rather, he had, after his first degree, indicated interest to join the Nigerian squad for the Rio Olympics. Though that dream didn't materialize, he did not give up on his dream.

"MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS TO INTEGRATE MYSELF WITH THE TEAM AND FIGURE OUT HOW I COULD BEST PERFORM.”- Jeremiah Mordi

The 1.95m (6ft 4in) shooting guard eventually got his opportunity when he was called up to join the team.

His excitement knew no bounds and he told FIBA.basketball: "Other than not advancing further in the tournament, the experience was great, as well as an honor."

"When I first joined the camp my first thought was to integrate myself with the team and figure out how I could best perform to help the team thrive."

Asked to give an assessment of his first outing for Nigeria, Mordi replied: "I think I performed well, being a key contributor in our win over Kenya as well as contributing timely scores against Uganda but I would've liked to be more consistent throughout all the games. It wasn't my best, I can contribute more offensively and defensively.

"Once we lost, my first thought was we missed out on an opportunity because we underachieved. The atmosphere in the locker room was down. Every one of us takes pride in representing our country and wanted to advance further. The President [of Nigerian Basketball Federation], Musa Kida and Coach Mike Brown said they were proud of our efforts."

Looking ahead to making amends with the FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers 2023, Mordi notes that the draw was interesting as it gives Nigeria the chance to right the wrongs of that game against Uganda.

"Being pitched against Uganda for the World Cup Qualifiers seems fitting," Mordi said.

"The FIBA World Cup draw gives Nigerian basketball a chance to immediately redeem ourselves after being eliminated by Uganda in the AfroBasket 2021. Given another opportunity to feature for Nigeria, I would try and assert myself more offensively and communicate more to build the trust and respect of my teammates and coaches," he concluded.

Mordi averaged 8.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in four FIBA AfroBasket 2021 games.

 FIBA