By Gracious Akujobi Board member of Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Igoche Mark has called for the inclusion of home-based player in the national male basketball team, D’ Tigers.
Mark, founder and organizer of the annual Mark D’Ball basketball championship and Sports Beauty Pageant, made the call in an interview with newsmen in Otukpo, Benue State.
He pointed out that home-based players should also be given opportunity in line with the level of development of the Nigeria basketball league, saying the NBBF has assured of determination to secure the wild card for D’Tigers.
According to him, Nigeria awaits the FIBA card to enable it participate in the 2014 world basketball championship.
Mark said a lot of effort had been committed to actualizing the wild card project, noting that the country had talented home based players going by the number of discoveries at the on-going Mark D’Ball championship and sports beauty pageant.
“Judging from what is going on right now in this tournament, I can say that more talents have been discovered for the country’s basketball team, we need more home based players in the national team”
“But I have noted that if coach Ayo Bakare is going to still be the coach of the team, we are going to urge him to give more opportunities to home based players”.
On his part, Ejike Ugboaja, a national team player urged Ayo Bakare, coach of D’ Tigers, to desist from relying much on foreign based players.
The Olympian who has recently moved to Istanbul Technical University (ITU) basketball club in Turkey, urged Bakare to give the home-based basketball players an opportunity to be part of the team.
He stressed that as indigenous coach, his main task should be on improving the quality of the home based players, rather than the over dependent on the foreign based players.
“If you are an indigenous coach, and you close the door on home based players, it all means that you have no regard for the league and its organisers,” Ugboaja said.
