The chairman of the Kaduna Basketball Association, Skambo Morrison has raised concern about the regressing state of basketball in Nigeria after the release of the power ranking by the Federation of International Basketball Association, FIBA.
Nigeria dropped to 9th position in the latest power rankings of FIBA after performing poorly in the recently concluded qualification window in Abidjan. As it stands, only Cote d’Ivoire has qualified, becoming the first African team to make it to the world cup.
Morrison, who has raised concern about the unstable state of basketball in the country has questioned the qualification ability of the D’Tigers. According to Morrison “I don’t know the miracle that’s going to happen. Just two days ago we were dropped to number nine in Africa.
“Cote d’Ivoire and South Sudan are leading Africa now. Let me ask. Is there a possibility we win the remaining games straight without losing one? Moreover, we are going to play tougher teams ahead of us. We are number nine in Africa now. Not that it’s impossible but I doubt it. In summary, I think we should just come back and know what we are doing”.
Cote d’Ivoire, South Sudan, Egypt, Angola, and Senegal are among the teams ranked above Nigeria. In addition, Cape Verde, Tunisia, and DR Congo complete the countries that are ahead of Nigeria on the log. Nigeria will play against Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea in the final two games of the qualification. Five African teams will represent the continent in next year’s FIBA World. Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines will host the World from August 25th to September 10th, 2023.
