Newly appointed coach of the national under 18 boys and girls teams, Christopher Okoh has admitted that his wards are under pressure to buckle up and perform at the upcoming 2017 FIBA Africa 3x3 championship in Mali.
Okoh said this in Lagos on Monday after their training session as they intensify preparations for the 3 day championship which holds between the 23rd and 25th of September in Bamako.
He said with teeming basketball supporters in Nigeria coming to terms with the new found status of the populous black nation on the African basketball scene, his team cannot afford to disappoint at the competition organized by the apex basketball body in Africa.
“I believe every team coming there (Mali) wants to get the gold and its same target for Nigeria. So, we will focus on winning the championship too.”
Okoh is optimistic that the winning mentality of the Afrobasket champions, D’Tigress and silver winning D’Tigers will rub off on the teenagers under his tutelage.
“As you know, we want the D’Tigress and D’Tigers victories to rub off on us and we are hoping that we get the victory also.”
The fast rising coach who has won 2 national league titles in the men and women's league (Mark Mentors basketball and Elephant Girls of Lagos) as assistant coach to Peter Ahmedu said his appointment will give him an opportunity to showcase his talent.
“I feel excited and I think it’s an opportunity to showcase myself as a coach. I will work with the players to get better and put them in shape so that we can represent the country better in Mali.”
The team will depart the shores of Nigeria on Thursday, 21st of September, 2017.
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