D’Tigers eye Olympics  upset

D’Tigers’ forward, Ike Diogu believes that the Nigerians are capable of springing surprises against their highly rated opponents at the Olympics.

The Nigerian male basketball squad which will make its bow at the Olympics are in Group A alongside USA, France, Lithuania, Argentina and Tunisia. They open their campaign against Tunisia on July 29.

Diogu said that the players were not fazed by the prospects of facing basketball giants.

“We played against heavyweight teams in Venezuela and we did what we needed to do, which is win. Now the stakes are higher but we are calm, focused and preparing for the tasks ahead. It is going to be difficult but do not rule us out of causing some upsets. If we play as a team of fighters, we can do great things”, said the 26-year old Diogu.

He was born in Buffalo, New York. His parents are native Nigerians who moved to the USA in 1980. Diogu went to high school in Garland, Texas and attended college at Arizona State University.

The 6-foot-9-inch power forward was the ninth-overall pick in 2005 for GoldenState, but as it turned out, his basketball journey was only just starting.