NBBF in last-ditch effort to send D’Tigers to AfroBasket qualifiers

D’Tigers PHOTO: TWITTER/NIGERIABASKET

The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), which on Wednesday, announced that it was withdrawing the men’s national team from participating in the 2025 AfroBasket qualifiers, which begins in Tunisia this weekend, yesterday said it had started moves to get the team to feature in the competition.

Nigeria is drawn in Group B of the 2025 AfroBasket qualifiers alongside Cape Verde, Libya and Uganda.

The team on Wednesday announced its withdrawal from the pre-championship tournament due to the NBBF’s inability to secure the necessary funding from the Federal Government.

In a tweet on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle, the NBBF lamented that it was withdrawing from the qualifiers despite convincing members of the 2020 Olympics squad to participate in the championship.

It followed the tweet with an official statement, which read: “NBBF announces non-participation of D’Tigers in men’s AfroBasket qualifiers Window 1, scheduled to hold in Monsatir, Tunisia, due to paucity of funds from the government.

“However, the NBBF extends its gratitude to all players/officials, who previously committed to participate for their patriotism, showcasing their dedication to the national team.”

But yesterday, in another tweet on its X handle, the NBBF said it “is now making last-minute attempts for D’Tigers to play this weekend.”

The federation added that it is trying to make up a roster and gather funds to play in the qualifiers.

A top official, who pleaded anonymity, said that the Ministry of Sports called the federation and pleaded with it to source funds for the qualifiers, promising to release the money within three weeks.

He said: “The earlier announcement by the NBBF and the furore that followed it made the