A former head coach of Nigeria’s men’s senior basketball national team, Sanni Ahmed has raised an alarm over what he believes could be likely negative effects of late preparation that the squad has had for this year’s African championship, Sports247 reports.
With the competition set to dunk-off next Monday in Luanda, Angola, Ahmed is of a view that D’Tigers have not received enough training and focus that would allow them win a second ever men’s continental basketball title for Nigeria.
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Ahmed declared, “It’s always not good for us to have a short period of preparation. On the other hand, we will always have an advantage when we prepare well.
“By and large, if the players stay in camp longer, they are likely to understand themselves better before the competition.”
Ahmed, though, expressed optimism that the experience and acumen of the team’s coach, Mohammed Abdulrahman, will be good enough to lead D’Tigers above their limitations, starting with their first match against Madagascar on Wednesday.
He noted, “The period is definitely a bit short for them, but I’m so happy that the federation gave Abdulrahman the chance to continue to lead the team. It helps him get to know them better and to work very well with them.”
Ahmed concluded by charging the players to ensure they follow their coach’s instructions to the letter, so that they would end up winning the competition when it comes to an end on August 24th.
“Abdulrahman is very intelligent and he understands the game very much. So, it all depends on the players to cooperate with him … and I hope they will,” Ahmed enthused.
Sports247 gathered that D’Tigers’ next game after Wednesday’s opening group fixture will be versus three-time winners and defending champions, Tunisia next week Friday, while their third match will be versus Cameroon the following Sunday, August 17th.
