Nigeria call on five players from FIBA AfroBasket 2017 for February Qualifiers
ABUJA (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers) - Nigeria have named an 18-player preliminary squad for this month's Group B first leg games in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifie
ABUJA (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers) - Nigeria have named an 18-player preliminary squad for this month's Group B first leg games in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers in Bamako, Mali.
While the former African champions kept five players from last year's FIBA AfroBasket - where they claimed a second-place finish - they added Ben Uzoh and Michael Gbinije, two members of the continental championship winning team from 2015.
From February 23-25, Nigeria will take on hosts Mali, Uganda and Rwanda in an attempt to secure a place in the 12-team second round of the African Qualifiers.
| Nigeria's 18-player preliminary squad for FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers | |||
| Dung Eli Abraham | Michael Adetukunbo | Nwogbo Lotana Afam | Jeleel Akindele |
| Ofoegbu Chima | Obi Emenago Clinton | Ike Diogu | Michael Efevberha |
| Emmanuel Erhiurhoro | Michael Gbinije | Ikenna Iroegbu | Ike Nwamu |
| Bryant Mbamalu | Usman Mohammed | Christopher Obekpa | Benjamin Uzoh |
| Yakubu Abdul Wahab | Talib Zanna | ||
Michael Efevberha, a prolific scorer who last represented Nigeria at FIBA AfroBasket 2009, is also part of the preliminary squad.
They will have the firepower of their top three scorers from last year's AfroBasket in the form of Ike Diogu, Ikenna Iroegbu, and Ikechukwu Nwamu.
Ikenna Iroegbu (third from left) and Ike Diogu (first from right) were named to the
FIBA AfroBasket 2017 All-Tournament team
Nigeria head coach Alex Nwora is confident his team can qualify to the 12-team second round: "We have a good chance of qualifying from the Group for the next round and players that are actively playing in their clubs who are available are those invited to represent Nigeria. The key is that we have a formidable team that will sail through. Our job is to go to Mali and win," he said.
Nigeria open their World Cup African Qualifiers against Uganda on February 23. A day later, they will go up against Rwanda before facing Mali on February 25.
At stake in the African Qualifiers are five tickets on offer for the continent's countries to reach the first-ever 32-team FIBA Basketball World Cup taking place in China from August 30-September 15, 2019.
FIBA