American-born Nigerian guard Ikechukwu Nwamu has attributed the team’s early difficulties in the 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifiers to inadequate preparation and a lack of on-court cohesion.
Ranked eighth in Africa by FIBA, the D’Tigers find themselves in a challenging position in Group C, managing only one win in three games.
Their campaign opened with an 88–78 overtime loss to hosts Tunisia, followed by a disappointing 69–55 defeat to Guinea, marking Guinea’s first-ever victory over Nigeria. Their lone triumph came in a hard-fought 75–69 overtime win against Rwanda.
Nwamu admitted that many of Nigeria’s three-point attempts were forced, stemming from hurried decisions and poor spacing issues he linked to the team’s limited time together.
“We didn’t really have enough time, and there were a lot of changes from AfroBasket and the qualifiers. It almost felt like we had a brand-new team, and sometimes we settled because we weren’t fully organised,” Nwamu said in an interview shared by BballNaija on X.
He noted that turnovers were also a problem, pointing to a general lack of structure as players continued adjusting and learning each other’s tendencies.
Still, Nwamu remained positive, stressing that fixing spacing problems and sharpening execution will be critical moving forward.
“We’re still getting to know each other as a group, and there are a lot of guys we’re only just becoming familiar with,” he added.
Despite their shaky beginning, Nigeria remains in the race for a second-round spot and faces mounting pressure to reclaim their standing after missing the 2023 World Cup and bowing out in the first round in 2019.