‘Only the best will make D’ Tigers team to World Cup’

D’ Tigers’ coach Alex Nwora says only the best hands will be selected for the 2019 FIBA Men’s World Cup in China in August.

Saturday’s draw had pitted Nigeria against Russia, Argentina and South Korea in Group B.

The coach, while reflecting on his team’s prospects, said the World Cup was only deserving of the best players the country could boast of.

Nwora, who led Nigeria to emerge as the first to qualify for the 2019 competition, said it was time to go back to the drawing board after the euphoria of qualification.

“You have to take your best players to the World Cup. It is not a competition you attend with just any player.

READ ALSO: FIBA World Cup Qualifiers: Diogu Leads D’Tigers to victory against Uganda

“However, with interest being shown by many Nigerian players in the NBA, G-League and across Europe, selecting the best will be a priority task for the coaching crew.’’

The coach also said there would be a try-out. “We have to go through our list, see each position and see who is going to be best for each position.

“There are so many young players in the U.S. and the NBA that we want to integrate into the system.”

He promised that every good player would be given a fair chance to fight for a shirt during the camping exercise expected to start soon.

“To be in those camps, we will reassess those players who played in the different windows and that will give us a good chance to see other new players we will be taking to the World Cup and will use in the future.”

NAN reports that the tournament schedule released by the Federation of International Basketball Associations (FIBA), D’Tigers will start their campaign against Russia on Aug. 31.

They will then take on Argentina on Sept. 2 in Wuhan, before their final group game against South Korea on Sept 4.