Croatia lost the semifinals match against Russia 64–66, but beat Greece once again 78–60 for the bronze medal. Croatia's Krešimir Ćosić, Dražen Petrović, Dino Rađa and Mirko Novosel are members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Ćosić being inducted in 1996 as a player, Petrović in 2002 and Rađa in 2018 also as players, and Novosel in 2007 as a coach. Sign in. Through its first three games, the team, led by South Carolina women’s basketball coach and WNBA great Dawn Staley, has demonstrated why, despite only playing as a collective for a few weeks, it’s poised for another gold-medal run. She’s averaging 10 points and 2.2 assists for Nigeria. Smith, Keturah Cambage, who won the 2018 WNBA scoring title, has carried her offensive onslaught to the World Cup. Gorecki, Miela Croatia earned its third medal at the 1994 FIBA World Cup in Canada. In the frontcourt is Evelyn Akhator, a former standout center at the University of Kentucky who was drafted No. Senger, Selena Former UConn star and current Liberty guard Kia Nurse has lit up the scoreboard as the top performer for Team Canada. © 2020 USA Basketball. For the women's team, see. ... Nigeria Basketball Announces 27 Player Roster For Olympic Camp | Team Nigeria Basketball. Castillo, Bobby Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Petrović, Ćosić, Kukoč and Novosel are members of the FIBA Hall of Fame. The official website of FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, and the governing body of Basketball. Croatia also failed to qualify for the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups, with their best result being 14th place in 2010. Right at your fingertips. ", Nigeria - Team Highlights - AfroBasket 2015, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nigeria_men%27s_national_basketball_team&oldid=975080016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 26 August 2020, at 16:40. Nigeria is the only African nation to ever qualify for the Summer Olympics through the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The team is like the release of a Kendrick Lamar album: Every time they step out on the floor they’re at the top of their game, but with each appearance they want to prove they’ve become that much more dominant than the rest of the world. FIBA organises the most famous and prestigious international basketball competitions including the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the FIBA World Championship for Women and the FIBA 3x3 World Tour. All rights reserved In 2015, Nigeria won its first crown as basketball champion of Africa. In view of his role as the pioneer of basketball in Nigeria, Walid Zabadne has been deemed “father of Nigerian basketball’’. Eight players on the team that represented Nigeria at the 2009 FIBA AfroBasket tournament were born in the United States. Cookie Policy. Walid Zabadne continued teaching young Nigerians to become basketballers and when Nigeria's basketball federation was organized, he took them to several basketball competitions across Africa. The Nigerian national team has emerged as the unlikely but overwhelmingly welcomed surprise of the World Cup. The team, also referred to as D’Tigress, made history Sunday when it defeated Turkey 74-68, earning its first win in tournament history. Nigeria arrived in Tenerife, Spain, with the second-lowest FIBA ranking (42nd) among the 16 participating teams. Nigeria took part in the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan. FS1 | FOX | FOX News | Fox Corporation | FOX Sports Supports | FOX Deportes, ™ and © 2020 Fox Media LLC and Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. After independence of Croatia in 1991, the first official tournament played by Croatians were 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Unique perspectives on the daily sports topics that matter most. ‘Us Black fighters need to get together and help our damn selves’: The fuel that drives Hakeem Dawodu Read now.