JENA(FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers) – With the qualification ticket to the FIBA Basketball World Cup  2019 safely secured in the bank for Nigeria, it would be expected that the FIBA AfroBasket 2015 champions would take their feet off the pedal.

But that is not the case as Ikenna Iroegbu insists that he and his team-mates are targeting a 12-0 run in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers.

With a 9-0 mark at the end of the 4th window, a confident Iroegbu points out that the job is not over.

"We’re particularly glad that we’ve secured a ticket for the World Cup in China next year. The feeling is good as we have all worked hard to be here but there is still one more window for us to play and we don’t intend to toy with it."

"Every game in the African Qualifiers is important and that is why we will not rest on our oars. We’ll play every game with the same intensity that we started the race," the 6ft3in(1.88m) told FIBA.basketball.

The 23-year-old point guard said that he looks forward to seeing Nigeria post a 3-0 result at the last window.

"Without taking anything away from the other teams, we don’t want to give any room for mistakes. We want to finish the race well and on a good note too.

"The next window is going to be pretty tough with Senegal, Cote d’ Ivoire and CAF all coming out to secure tickets too. For us as a team, we need to keep the tempo and do what we have to do by winning all our games," he offered.

"I’M PARTICULARLY THANKFUL TO ALL THE PLAYERS THAT HAVE GIVEN THEIR ALL TO GET THE QUALIFICATION TICKET, BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT IT’S NOT YET OVER FOR US."- Iroegbu

The Sacramento native, who helped Nigeria clinched a Second-Place finish at the AfroBasket 2017 stated that playing for his country is a thing of pride for him.

"I chose to play for Nigeria and I’m having great fun in the game and with colleagues in the team. We’re a family and watch out for each other. So, when the issue is Nigeria, we handle it.”

Iroegbu’s thoughts are not far from that of Nigeria’s head coach, Alex Nwora who has had a smooth run with the team fielding different players in the Qualifiers owing to the availability.

During the post game press conference following their 89-61 win over Senegal in the first-leg of the African Qualifiers in Lagos, Nwora stated that his team does not intend to slow down.

"We're happy, but we haven't finished business. We still have another window to play," Nwora pointed out.

"I’m particularly thankful to all the players that have given their all to get the qualification ticket, but the truth is that it’s not yet over for us. There’s another window left, and we will approach the games the same way we approached the others."

"Depending on the availability of the players, we field our best because we must finish on a high. We want to go all the way. The Nigeria Basketball Federation leadership has done a lot for us and I’m thankful to have come this far," Iroegbu concluded.

FIBA