Veteran basketball player and Rivers Hoopers of Port Harcourt captain, Victor Anthony Koko has predicted that Nigeria’s men’s national team, D’Tigers will win their upcoming continental championship if all their camp allowances are paid in full.
Sports247 reports that Koko, who was in the Nigerian squad that competed at the 2019 and 2021 African Men’s Senior Basketball Championships, noted that the female team, D’Tigress were able to win a fifth straight title this past Sunday in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire because they were well motivated.
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With D’Tigers now set to begin their own campaign next Tuesday in Luanda, Angola, Koko stressed that the only way they can pick a second African title is for Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) to treat the players well.
The bearded centre declared, “There is something we need to do inside the national team, in the sense that, if you do the players well, they will definitely give you a good result.
“Everybody will focus on the winning prize, and that’s what will motivate them more.”
Koko went on to theorise that complete payment of all camp allowances and match bonuses of the players will inspire them, as they would give their best when paid in full and as at when due.
He reasoned further, “When their money is being paid, nobody is complaining about anything. You’ll see that everybody will have one mind and one goal. They will come out with flying colours, just like the ladies.”
Koko concluded by pointing out that D’Tigress were able to win the recent African Women’s Senior Basketball Championship (AfroBasket 2025) in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire because the players were not owed any money and he stressed that the men can do the same if they receive similar treatment from the NBBF.
“For the ladies, it was not just the money that the federal government gave them that motivated them.
“All their allowances were paid, and the NBBF was not owing them. So, they had a free mind to play. Everybody was on the same page playing.
“So, if they do the same thing for the male team, it’s going to go a long way, and they will end up winning it, because everybody wants that bigger money at the end of the competition,” Koko pointrd out.
