By John Egbokhan

AfroBasket 2017 is almost here, with 15 teams attempting to wrestle the title from the hands of D’Tigers, as the Nigerian men basketball side are called.

The success of their female counterparts, D’Tiigress at the women’s Afrobasket Championship in Mali, has brought some added pressure on D’Tigers  to successfully defend the title they won two years ago.

The tournament, being jointly hosted by Tunisia and Senegal, runs from September 8 to 16, with D’Tigers getting the party rolling with a group A fixture against Ivory Coast at the Salle Omnisport de Rades on September 8.. Mali and D.R Congo, the other teams in the first group, have a go at each other in the second match of the opening day at the same venue.

D’Tigers

With the likes of Angola, Central Africa Republic, Morocco, Uganda, Tunisia, Guinea, Rwanda, Cameroon, Senegal, Mozambique, Egypt and South Africa  also competing for honours, D’Tigers have their work cut out for them as they strive for the ultimate prize in the tournament.

Arguably one of the best teams in Africa today, D’Tigers  featured  at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, where they finished last in a tough pool, consisting of Europe’s best sides, Spain, Croatia, and Lithuania, and South America’s best in Argentina and Brazil.

Despite the odds stacked against them, D’Tigers were able to get a victory against the top seeded Croatian team before bowing out of the tournament. Although they did not have much luck against some of the world’s best teams, the outing will surely put a chip  on their shoulder as they try to pick up from  where they left off and try and win this year’s AfroBasket 2017 tournament.

But if there is one team that D’Tigers would be watching their back for, that must surely be Angola, who have won the most gold medals in the history of the FIBA African Basketball Championships. They currently hold the record of 11 gold medals. The most recent one was in 2013.

Considered to be the best team in Africa and will be looking to bounce back after losing out at the gold to Nigeria in AfroBasket Championships in 2015.

Tunisia are another side to watch out for and as hosts, they will enjoy tremendous support from their fans, who will be cheering on Salah Mejri and his Tunisian teammates to victory. l.

Mejri has been the Dallas Mavericks rotational center for the past couple of seasons. He has quickly become a fan favourite.  With his vast experience and exposure playing in the highly rated Nba,Tunisia will be banking on him to catapult the team to a rousing victory in rades.

At the last AfroBasket Championship in 2015, Tunisia  finished with the bronze medal but now hope to bounce back with a bang  at this month’s tournament

But by far the biggest player set to dazzle at Afrobasket 2017 is top NBA player, Gorgui Dieng, who will lead Senegal’s assault on D’Tigers title.

The Minnesota Timberwolves power forward  boasts an impressive record that will send chills through the spines of his foes at Afrobasket 2017. On January 15, 2017, he scored a season-high 21 points in a 98–87 loss to the   Dallas Mavericks.

On March 30, 2017, he recorded 11 points, a season-high 15 rebounds, six assists and three blocks in a 119–104 win over the  Los Angeles Lakers

With such record under his belt,  Dieng has what it takes to give D’Tigers a good run for their money in the Championship.

It promises to be a feast of breathtaking slams and dunks this month at Afrobasket 2017, with the winners set to pass the proverbial eye of the needle to get the ultimate prize on September 16 at the Salle Omnisport de Rades.