LAGOS (2007 All Africa Games) - Nigeria's preparations for the basketball event of the 2007 All Africa Games in Algeria have been postponed by a week, the Nigeria Basketball Federation announced on Saturday.

The shift was necessitated by the FIBA Africa/NBBF coaching clinic, which started in Kano - the northern part of the country - last Wednesday, the Secretary-General of the federation, Segun Akinlotan, said.

Under the new arrangement, the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and Abuja camps for basketball will now open on a week on Monday.

The camps were initially scheduled to tip off on Monday (today) in the two centres.

According to Akinlotan, the timing of the FIBA Africa/NBBF clinic is the main reason for the postponement of the start of the camps.

"Most of the coaches in the camp are participating in the clinics we are holding in Kano," Akinlotan said in a telephone interview. "The clinic will end on January 17 and it has forced us to shift the commencement of the camping exercise."

The coaches for the male team are Sanni Ahmed of Kano Pillars, Andrew Isokpehi of Ondo State and Adeka Odaudu; the female team, which is to train in Zaria, will be tutored by Ayo Bakare of Ebun Comets, Scott Nnaji of Nigeria Customs and Adewumi Aderemi of First Bank.

The first phase of the exercise will last for 30 days.

Twenty-two Nigeria-based players have been invited to each camp.

Nigeria is using the exercise to prepare for the ninth AAG - or Algiers 2007 - holding in July in North Africa.

Nigeria won the gold in the eighth AAG - Abuja 2003 - in the women's game, but failed to take the gold in the men's game.

Obafemi Obadare