Basketball
Afrobasket: Winner takes all as D’Tigers face Cote d’Ivoire
Afrobasket: Winner takes all as D’Tigers face Cote d’Ivoire Group C will come alive again on Sunday when Nigeria’s D’Tigers take on Cote d’Ivoire in the last group game to determine the group winner.
Following the expansion of the participating teams at the Afrobasket to 16 with only group winners gaining automatic ticket to the quarter final, both teams will have everything to play for.
With D’Tigers and the Ivorians on a two game unbeaten run against Kenya and Mali, Coach Mike Brown knows that winning the game puts his team in a better position to achieve what they have set out to do in Kigali.
Although the Ivorians currently top the group on superior points made, all that will count for nothing when both sides meet on Sunday for the highly anticipated game.
Reacting ahead of the game, the D’Tigers handler- Mike Brown described his next opposition as a well-coached side while expecting a very tough and physical contest.
“I don’t know yet because I have not spent a lot of time watching them. I do know they play extremely hard and they are well coached. We have to come out and fight for 40 minutes”.
The last time both sides met, Nigeria defeated the Ivorians 83-66 on the 6th of September, 2019 in the classification round of the FIBA World Cup.
This result will count for nothing with Nigeria parading a different set of players in Kigali.
Strategically, Brown said his team cannot afford to be intimated.
“They need to take care of the ball and be wary of needless turnovers against a highly physical team. We have to keep them off the glass because they are a physical team that rebounds well and we have to really take care of the ball because they really get up there defensively”.
Basketball
Fresh Ideas, Science Needed to Revitalise Basketball —ABA
Cyril Ogar
President/Founder, Amateur Basketball Academies, ABA, Aliyu Lucky Abubakar has called for a scientific and pragmatic approach to rediscovering the game of basketball in the North East.
The former player of many teams in Nigeria stated this on Saturday during training of coaches in Yola, Adamawa State.
Aliyu said the training is aimed to arm Coaches so they can, in turn, reach the children, especially those that ABA may not. The Deputy Comptroller in Nigeria Customs Service decried non-challant attitudes of the stakeholders in the development of basketball in the North East.
” Basketball is fading in the North East, and we at ABA will not allow it to die.”
“Adamawa was once a force in the game of basketball but had fallen behind. Our plan is to discover talent through coaching training, nurture it, and carry it from state level to the national team, and eventually, the global stage.” The basketball administrator said.
In his keynote message to the participants, which centered on the theme, “HOPE,” Harnessing opportunity, Organising for excellence, Promoting players’ development, and Empowering the next generation, Aliyu said, is far more than a drill instructors.
” Every child you see on a basketball court has a dream, and it is our job as a coach to spot it early and give it somewhere to go.” He concluded.
In his lecture titled, ” Who is a Coach”, Emmanuel Odah, the head Coach, FCT Basketball and former National Juniors team, described a coach as a committed, organised, affectionate, caring and humble.
” Commitment is consistency, and consistency is mother of progress; humility comes first because a coach who can not control himself can never control a game,” Odah insisted.
Other instructors at the training include ABA head of technical, Coach Adeka Daudu, as well as Coach Alexander Anyebe Ujoh, who spoke about the relationship between a coach and child in his care.
Coaches at the training commended ABA for its boldness to give hopes to basketball coaches all over the country. They promised that lessons learned would reshape and reset their mind on the job. They said the training will help them in understanding their role not only as an instructor but also grooming the children for a better future.
Among guests at the event include FCT Acting Director of Sports, Mr. Iyiola Ogundele and Bayelsa Veteran Basketball administrator, Coach Tony
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