Nigeria senior men basketball team D’Tigers will travel to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso today for the first leg tie against the Burkinabe in group-E double qualifiers for the 29th Afrobasket and the 11th All Africa Games.

The 18-man contingent is led by the president of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Tijjani Umar. D’Tigers will take on the Burkina Faso on Monday March 16 with the return leg slated for March 25 in Nigeria.

The squad is made up of twelve players with ten of them drawn from the Nigerian DStv Premier Basketball League and two foreign based players.

Nigeria’s hope of qualifying for her 17th outing at Africa biggest basketball showpiece rests on coaches Sani Ahmed and Ayinla Johnson and the twelve players who include Olumide Oyedeji (centre); Ejike Ugboaja (forward); Stanley Gumut (forward); Abubakar Usman (guard); Matthew Onmonya (forward); and Ibrahim Yusuf (guard/forward).

Other players in the squad are Adeolu Olaiya Ojo (guard); Abdulwahab Yakubu (guard); Abdulwahab Yahaya (forward); Azuoma Dike (guard); Dele Ademola (forward) and Abayomi Oyeniyi (forward). The delegation also has Muktar Khaleh, Patrick Okeke (S.G, NBBF); Patrick Omorodion (media); Dr. Ohida Suleiman (team doctor) and Dayo Ogunkunle (physio).

Head Coach Sani Ahmed assured the team will not disappoint Nigerians as the players and its handlers have the mind set of picking the sole slot in the zone.