Diogu, Aminu brothers missing as Brown names D’Tigers 15-man provisional list

• Final 12-man list out today

Team Captain, Ike Diogu, and the Aminu brothers, Al Farouq and Alade, are some of the prominent names missing in a 15-man provisional list released by D’Tigers’ Head Coach, Mike Brown, yesterday.

Diogu and the Alade brothers have been in the team since the London 2012 Olympics, where Nigeria became the first African team to win a game at the Games.

The Guardian learnt that the final 12-man list for Tokyo 2020 Olympics would be made public today.

Coach Brown has been preparing for the Games with 49 players, some of who featured in some friendly games during their stay in camp.

The 15-man list is made up of eight NBA stars headlined by Detroit Piston Centre, Jahlil Okafor, who is in line to make his international debut for Nigeria. Miami Heat’s trio of Gabe Vincent, Chikezie ‘KZ’ Okpala and 2020 NBA draft pick, Precious Achiuwa, have also been pencilled down for the last phase of preparation with Utah Jazz’s Miye Oni.

Minnesota Timberwolves Josh Okogie and Metu Chimezie of Sacramento Kings will be making a return to the team following their exploits at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China where the youngsters helped Nigeria secure an Olympics ticket alongside Ike Iroegbu.

Jordan Nwora’s fairytale adventure continues with another chance to be at the Olympics. Nwora, whose team, Milwaukee Bucks, is heading to the NBA finals, is the current and youngest highest point scorer for Nigeria in a competitive game, as well as making history alongside his father (Coach) being on the same team.

After missing out on the 2019 World Cup, Spain-based Obi Emegano returns with his inclusion, alongside Caleb Agada, Ekpe Udoh and Stanley Okoye, who has been a constant feature in the team since 2015.

A member of the 2015 Afrobasket team, Mike Gbinije made the cut with Chima Moneke, who has been impressive for the team since making his debut during the 2021 Afrobasket qualifiers.

Brown revealed that the final 12-man list would be named days before their trip to Tokyo.

Nigeria is grouped alongside Australia, Germany and Italy following the conclusion of the Olympics qualifying tournament.