Captain of the national male basketball team, Olumide Oyedeji, is optimistic of the team winning a medal at next year’s Olympic Games billed for Rio Janiero, Brazil.
According to him, D’Tigers, as the male national basketball team is called, will spring surprises at the Games unlike the London Olympic Games for which the team went through the straits of qualifying through the play-offs.
Said he: “This time around, we are going to the Olympic Games to participate but vie for a medal stage.
“We have to show the world that we are Africa’s best and come with something at the end of the Games in Brazil.”
Oyedeji stressed that the spirit of the team is high and the players have learnt their lessons from the African Games held in Congo where the team failed to pick the gold medal.
“We’ve learnt one or two things from the just concluded African Games in Congo and we are going to correct all the loopholes ahead of the Olympic Games.
“We know what is expected of us and we are just going to do that to make the nation proud. We cannot at this stage slide down again, rather we must keep up the tempo and continue to progress with every competition, and the Olympic Games is just one of such.
He thanked the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) for the support given to the team in the past and urged it to continue to boost the morale of the players and the technical crew.
Nigeria qualified for basketball event of the 2016 Olympic Games by virtue of emerging the African champions at this year’s Afrobasket Championship in Tunis.
