NBBF sees brighter side of Nigeria’s 44-point loss to U.S

Most Nigerians became apprehensive of Nigeria’s performance at the Rio 2016 Olympics basketball event after the national team, D’Tigers, lost by a massive 110 to 66 defeat to the United States (U.S) in an international friendly in the early hours of Tuesday. But the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) saw things differently.

To some Nigerians, the 44-point difference was a sign that the D’Tigers still has a long way to go in their bid to be among the big boys of basketball. This is far from the NBBF’s outlook of the game. In fact, the Federation believes that the Nigerian men team will qualify for the second round of the event.

Speaking to The Guardian yesterday, NBBF’s spokesman, Patrick Omorodion, stated that playing against a more technically experienced team in the last warm up game has helped to instill confidence in the players ahead of the Olympics.

He explained that the result of the game was a pointer that D’Tigers were on the right track to make an impact in Brazil.

Omorodion pleaded with basketball followers not to write off the team, saying the players were poised to get a good result at the Olympics.

“The result of the Olympic-friendly has proved that the team is improving when compared to the last game D’Tigers played against the U.S. team in the 2012 Olympics.

“The Olympic friendlies has served as a boost to the morale of the players. I will also like to reveal that the final list of players that will represent the country at the games has not been released yet. Any list that does not emanate from the NBBF should be discarded,” he said.

The African champions are grouped with Brazil, Croatia, Lithuania, Spain and Argentina in the Olympics.