Rivers Hoopers Quintet Named to D’Tigers Squad

The Nigeria Basketball Federation has called up five players from Rivers Hoopers to participate in the national basketball team, D’Tigers, training camp in Abuja as they prepare for the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket tournament qualifiers. The invited Rivers Hoopers players are Okiki Michael, Abel Offia, Ifeanyi Koko, Patrick Abah and Vincent Buchi, part of a 24-player preliminary roster.

Currently, Nigeria sits at the bottom of Group B, having lost all three games in the previous round of qualifiers in 2024. The team aims to improve their standing, as only the top three teams from the group will qualify for the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket tournament in Angola.

The D’Tigers will begin their quest for qualification with a training camp at Bentley Hotel, Abuja, on Monday, February 10, to Saturday, February 16, with the home-based players for the first phase of the camp, while foreign-based players will join the squad directly in Tripoli, Libya, on Sunday, February 17, ahead of the qualifiers scheduled for February 17-24.

Head Coach Abdulrahman Mohammed returns from the first qualification window, assisted by former D’Tigers star Deji Akindele and Isikaku Smart from the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. The 24-man preliminary roster features a mix of 11 home-based and 13 foreign-based players.

The home-based players include Okiki Michael (Rivers Hoopers), Sulaimon Azeez (Hoops & Reads), Rayyan AR Salis (Gboko City Chiefs), Patrick Abah (Rivers Hoopers), Abel Offia (Rivers Hoopers), Ugochukwu Simon (Virtus Ragusa, Italy), Wisdom Anyaoha (Gboko City Chiefs), Kareem Joseph (Hoops & Reads), Ifeanyi Koko (Rivers Hoopers), Ibe Agu (Customs), and Clinton Osabuohein Best (Hoops & Reads).

The foreign-based players are Zaid Hearst (Zamora, Spain), Mike Nuga (Valmiera Glass, Latvia), Ike Nwamu (CCMB, France – Team Captain), Agada Caleb (Avtador, Russia), Martins Igbanu (Niigata Albirex BB, Japan), Abdul Malik Abu (Arriva P. Cukier, Poland), Christian Mekowulu (Akita Northern Happinets, Japan), Talib Zanna (KK Cibona, Croatia), Bassey Effiong (Spinet Knight, Ghana), Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu (Pallacanestro Varese, Italy), Vincent Buchi (Rivers Hoopers), Jason Jitoboh (Vellaznimi, Kosovo), and John Egbunu (Breogan, Spain).

In Tripoli, D’Tigers will compete against Libya, Uganda, and Cape Verde, aiming to recover from their previous losses. The final squad will be finalised after the Abuja camp and the arrival of the foreign-based players.