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Tag: FIBA

  • Basketball Worldcup: FIBA replaces Nigeria with Mali

    The Nigerian female basketball team, D’Tigress have been thrown out of the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup and replaced with another team in Africa after the Federal Government withdrew all teams from international competitions.

    Recall that president Buhari led -Federal Government suspends all international basketball competition for two years.

    D’Tigress had qualified for the World Cup billed for Sydney, Australia, starting in September 2022, after defeating France and Mali in the final qualifying tournament.

    FIBA’s decision comes after the deliberations with the Nigeria Basketball Federation to see how the decision could be rescinded for the defending African champions to represent the continent.

    FIBA has now called on Mali senior women  Basketball team to replace the Nigerian team at the 2002 worldCup billed to hold in Australia.

  • FIBA threatens to sanction Nigeria over basketball ban

    FIBA threatens to sanction Nigeria over basketball ban

    World basketball governing body FIBA has warned that Nigeria faces sanctions following the Federal Government’s withdrawal of Basketball teams from all international competition for 2 years.

    FIBA stated this in a letter addressed to factional Nigeria Basketball Federation president Musa Ahmadu-Kida signed by Jaime Lamboy, Head of Legal, FIBA and dated May 18, 2022.

    Recall that sports minister, Sunday Dare, through the Permanent Secretary of the sports ministry, Ismaila Abubakar, said that President Muhammadu Buhari, had given approval, to withdraw Nigeria from all international basketball competitions for two years, following unending leadership crisis rocking the NBBF.

    The minister added that the withdrawal would help the country revamp the sport from the grassroots, as well as put an end to the basketball crises.

    In a latest development ,FIBA, has issued a warning to Nigeria saying it risk being sanctioned.
    It added that the withdrawal was in breach of Article 9.7 of FIBA’s General Statutes, which states, “National member federations shall manage their affairs independently and with no influence from third parties.”

    Article 10.2 of the FIBA Statutes added that on the initiative of the Secretary-General, FIBA Central Board may suspend a national member federation for the breach of Article 9.7.

    If the sanction is approved, it means Nigeria will miss out on the 2024 Olympic Games, as well as the 2025 World Championships for the male and female teams.

    Similarly, Nigeria will also be unable to compete at the next two Afrobasket Championships (male and female).

    Reacting to a letter earlier written to them by the Ahmadu-Kida-led NBBF board, FIBA stated, “In such letter, you pre-emptively informed FIBA of the apparent decision by the Nigerian Government (Federal Ministry of Youth & Sports Development) intending to have Nigeria take a break from all international engagements for two years and enabling an Interim Management Committee to run the affairs of the basketball in Nigeria.

    “As you already are aware, Nigeria is due to participate in the following FIBA competitions in the upcoming months: FIBA 2023 Basketball World Cup Qualifiers (FBWC23 Qualifiers) FIBA 2022 Women’s Basketball World Cup (FWBWC22)

    “As you are aware, any withdrawal of Nigeria from the abovementioned competitions will trigger potential disciplinary sanctions as per the FIBA Internal Regulations. Furthermore, if the absence of Nigeria from international competitions for the next two years materialises, the consequences may spread out well past such a two-year period.

     

    “For example, please note that the withdrawal from the FBWC23 Qualifiers is also a withdrawal from the Paris 2024 Olympic qualification process. Similarly, depending on third-party results, the same situation could apply with respect to FIBA AfroBasket 2025.”

    The statement added, “Accordingly, we request from the NBBF to immediately inform FIBA whether its participation in the abovementioned competitions is or not ratified.

    “We take the opportunity to remind the NBBF of its obligations to manage its affairs with no influence from third parties, as per Article 9.6 of FIBA General Statutes.”

    “I send you and your Federation’s staff my Best Wishes for health and safety.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that D’Tigress appealed to Federal Government to rethink its decision to ban Nigeria from all International competitions for two years.

    Read Also:

    D’Tigress appeals to Federal Government to reverse Basketball ban

    D’Tigress faulted the government’s decision stating that the ban would take away their future competitions, accomplishments, and goals.

  • Minister hails D ‘Tigress’ qualification for FIBA world cup

    Minister hails D ‘Tigress’ qualification for FIBA world cup

    Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, has congratulated the Nigerian national women basketball team, D’Tigress, for picking a ticket to the FIBA Women World Cup.

    The D’ Tigress who are three times Afrobasketball champions beat their Malian opponents 73-69 on Sunday in Serbia to qualify as Africa’s sole representative.

    They had earlier beaten the highly rated, world number five, France 67-65, after losing their opening game to China.

    The minister praised the queens of the court for doing the nation proud and showing dogged determination in all their games.

    The FIBA Women Basketball World Cup will take place on Sydney, Australia in September

  • D’Tigers beat Uganda to lead group in FIBA World Cup qualifiers

    D’Tigers beat Uganda to lead group in FIBA World Cup qualifiers

    Nigeria’s D’Tigers on Sunday beat Uganda 95-69 to lead in the first round in Group A of the African Qualifiers for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

    The Nigerian team, after their opening 71-79 loss to Cape Verde on Friday when the window one of matches began, had gone on to beat Mali 72-70 on Saturday.

    The resurgence saw them taking control of the group on Sunday with an overwhelming defeat of the East Africans.

    The FIBA world-ranked 23 team took the game by the cuff from the jump-ball at the City Arena in the Angolan city of Benguela by winning the first quarter 25-18.

    The second quarter was almost a replica of the first, with a 28-19 win, while D’Tigers strolled through the third quarter 14-8.

    The fourth quarter saw the Ugandans fighting back harder in order to restore some prestige, but the Nigerian side were unstoppable for them as they won 28-24.

    Team leader Ike Diogu was again inspirational with 27 points and 10 rebounds.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 16 African teams are competing in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers through five tournament windows over 15 months.

    The Qualifiers run from November 2021 to February 2023, with five African national teams earning a spot in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.

    The World Cup is scheduled for Aug. 25 to Sept. 10, 2023 in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.

    NAN reports that the second window of the first round of qualifiers will open in February.

  • Cape Verde cage D’Tigers in 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifier opener

    Cape Verde cage D’Tigers in 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifier opener

    Nigeria’s D’Tigers on Friday opened their 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifier campaign with a defeat to Cape Verde.

    The 2015 African champions fell 71-79 to Cape Verde on Friday at the Benguela, Pavilhão Multiusos Acácias Rubras in Angola.

    The Nigerian men’s basketball team started the game on a high note with a 20-18 lead in the first quarter.

    D’Tigers, however, narrowly lost the second quarter 15-16 to Cape Verde.

    They rallied back into the game with a three-point advantage of 20-17 in the third quarter.

    The Julius Nwosu boys failed to pull their weight in the fourth quarter and ended up losing 16-28 points.

    D’Tigers will take on Mali in the second qualification game on Saturday.

    The game is scheduled to take place at 2 pm local time.

    Nigeria are in group A with Cape Verde, Mali and Uganda.

    16 African teams are competing in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers through five tournament windows over 15 months.

    The qualifiers run from Nov. to Feb. 2023, with five African national teams earning a spot in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 scheduled to take place from Aug. 25 to Sept. 10, 2023 in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.

  • D’Tigress devour Senegal, roar into final of AfroBasket again

    D’Tigress devour Senegal, roar into final of AfroBasket again

    D’Tigress, Nigeria’s senior women basketball team, on Friday in Yaounde defeated their Senegalese counterparts 73-63 to book a place in the final of the 2021 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket Championship.

    In a highly-charged semi-final encounter between two West African rivals, Nigeria continued their unbeaten run in the competition with a dominant performance.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that D’ Tigress who are defending champions had beaten Senegal in 2005, 2017 and 2019 to lift the women’s Afrobasket trophy, thereby making Friday’s encounter more titanic.

    The Nigerian ladies started the game in impressive fashion, taking the first quarter 22-11 and second quarter 23-20 to head into the break.

    On resumption, D’Tigress slowed down the game but was still won 15-13 in the third quarter.

    The Senegalese rallied back in the fourth quarter to take it at 19-13, but it was too little too late as Nigeria prevailed 73-63 at the sound of the final whistle.

    Nigeria’s top performer, Victoria Macaulay, was outstanding with nine points, seven rebounds, three assists, four blocks and one steal.

    Nigeria’s trio of Amy Okonkwo (16), Ify Ibekwe (14) and captain Adaora Elonu (12) gave Nigeria 42 points.

    Senegal forward and captain Mame-Marie Sy-Diop led all players in scoring with 18 points, two rebounds, two assists and two blocks; enterprising swingman Yacine Diop and Ndeye Fatou Ndiaye contributed 14 and 11.

    Nigeria will now in the final on Sunday meet Mali who had earlier beaten hosts Cameroon in the first semi-final match.

    Nigeria are seeking to become only the second nation to win three straight AfroBasket crowns since Senegal did it in the 1970s.

  • D’Tigress beat Ivorian foes to head into FIBA Women’s AfroBasket semi-finals

    D’Tigress beat Ivorian foes to head into FIBA Women’s AfroBasket semi-finals

    D’Tigress, Nigeria’s senior women national basketball team, on Thursday in Yaounde beat Cote d’Ivoire 72-56 to advance to the semi-finals of the 2021 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket Championship.

    The Nigerian side, who are the defending champions and eyeing a third title in a row, won the quarter-final game’s first three quarters to establish an unassailable lead.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the team won 24-8 and 19-13 in the first and second quarters respectively to lead 43-21 as they headed for the game’s break.

    D’Tigress continued where they stopped by winning the third quarter 16-14 as the Ivorians fought back to avoid losing heavily in the game at the City Arena in the Cameroonian capital.

    The losers’ resurgence continued in the final quarter, and it helped them to win 21-13, but it was a little too late as Nigeria headed to the semi-finals with a 16-point margin.

    The Nigerian team improved from their last game, with tremendous success in scoring their free throws, and a good measure of success from the three-point spot.

    Ezinne Kalu dazzled for the Nigerian team in the match, scoring 17 points and grabbing four rebounds, as well as six assists.

    Victoria Macaulay also had eight points and seven rebounds, with one assist, while Adaora Elonu had nine points, five rebounds and two assists.

    NAN reports that D’Tigress will now in the semi-finals on Friday face winners of the second quarter-final pairing involving Senegal and Mozambique

  • 12 Nigerians listed to officiate in 2021/2023 FIBA competitions

    12 Nigerians listed to officiate in 2021/2023 FIBA competitions

    Twelve Nigerians have been accredited to officiate in the 2021/2023 international basketball window.

    Afolabi Oni, the Media Coordinator of Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.

    He said this followed the conclusion of the 2021 Federation International Basketball Association (FIBA) Commissioner and Referees examinations on Monday.

    Oni added that current Technical Representative on the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) board, Adamu Janlong, was retained as Match Commissioner alongside Adeola Oboro and Akinsehinde Ishola.

    “Also, Lai Alimi made a return to the continent as a certified referee alongside renowned FIBA referee Kingsley Ojeaburu.

    “Others are Lagos-based Samuel Shofoluwe, Ayodeji Oladeji from Ibadan, Afolabi Ikuomola from Lagos, Opeyemi Ogunleye from Abuja and Gambo Musa from Jigawa.

    “New entrant Fatima Ibrahim from Abuja is the only female that passed the exam and physical test.

    “She is set to make her debut on the continent alongside Samuel Nuhu from Abuja who completed the 12-man list,” he stated.

  • FIBA 2019: D’Tigers edge West African rivals Cote d’Ivoire 83-66

    FIBA 2019: D’Tigers edge West African rivals Cote d’Ivoire 83-66

    Nigeria’s national men’s basketball team, D’Tigers on Friday in China at the ongoing FIBA World Cup defeated Cote d’Ivoire 83-66 in their first classification phase game.

    Having finished third in Group B with three points, the D’Tigers entered into the classification phase of the tournament as Africa’s top performers.

    They are therefore poised to clinch Africa’s sole automatic ticket for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

    The Nigerian side took the keenly contested first quarter 24-18 but crumbled in the second quarter with some sloppy displays which allowed the Ivorians a 17-13 win.

    However, D’Tigers bounced back in the third quarter, with Al-Farouk Aminu and Nnamdi Vincent constantly asking questions of the Ivorian defence.

    The two West African countries shared the spoil 20-20 in the final quarter of the highly entertaining game, but D’Tigers did just enough to run away as winners.

    Nigeria had defeated Cote d’Ivoire in Lagos 84-73 points during the World Cup qualifiers before suffering an away 72-46 points defeat in Abidjan later.

    Although, Ike Diogu had nine rebounds, while Vincent scored D’Tigers’ highest points (15), Aminu was Nigeria’s best performer with 13 points, 7 rebounds, four assists and 2 steals.

    D’Tigers will now focus on hosts China, who they will play in their second classification game at the Guangzhou Gymnasium, China.

    A victory against China will earn D’Tigers the highest placed in Africa, having enjoyed a better points deficit compared to the other four African teams.

    Musa Kida, the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) President, had said it was important for the team to grab the only automatic ticket on offer to Africa for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

    He said that playing the qualifiers would have huge financial implications on the board.

  • FIBA World Cup: Nigeria lose second game 81-94 to Argentina

    FIBA World Cup: Nigeria lose second game 81-94 to Argentina

    Nigeria’s D’Tigers lost 81-94 to Argentina on Monday in their second Group B game at the ongoing FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup in China.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the defeat was Nigeria’s second consecutive loss at the tournament, having lost the opening game 77-82 to Russia on Saturday.

    D’Tigers, being debutants at the event, were hoping to outclass the number five ranked Argentines at the Wuhan Sports Centre to move to the second round.

    The first quarter, however, ended in favour of the South Americans 28-17, while a resilient side captained by Ike Diogu pushed on to make a comeback and they led 36-35 in the second quarter.

    The experience of Argentina’s Luis Scola came to the fore, as the team took an 11-point lead at the end of the third quarter, to finish victorious with 94 points.

    Scola, however, made history at the end of the game, climbing to second place in the all-time FIBA World Cup scoring list with 611 career points.

    Argentina have now booked a spot in the second round after two wins against South Korea and Nigeria.

    Nigeria will face South Korea on Wednesday in their third group stage match at the competition which holds from Aug. 31 to Sept. 15 in China.