As reactions continue to pour in over the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup draw held in China on March 16th, D’Tigers captain Ike Diogu expects a tough task when hostilities begin in Group B of the FIBA World Cup in the summer.
Nigeria are drawn with former champions Argentina, two time finalists Russia and Korea in Group B.
Diogu believes every team in the Group will pose a big threat to Nigeria.
“All the teams are a threat. We can’t take any of them lightly because they all have the ability to beat us. Argentina is one of the best in the world as is Russia so we have a very tough task in front of us,” he said.
“In order to get respect worldwide, the road we must travel through is Europe meaning we have to play the best European teams to get the respect Africa deserves,” Diogu told FIBA.Basketball.
The two-time Olympian who will be making his World Cup debut in China wants to make history with the 2015 Afrobasket champions.
“It’s the biggest stage for me. I’ve never played in the World Cup so I’m extremely excited to be a part of this and the guys want to make sure we do something special that the continent has not seen.”
Diogu scored 186 points from 12 Games for the D’Tigers at the World Cup Qualifiers.
