The head coach of Nigeria’s men’s senior basketball team, Ogoh Odauda, said his team would bounce back from its loss to Senegal at the ongoing FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament.
Nigeria opened their campaign with a 93-87 loss to Senegal in a keenly contested match, which could have gone either way.
Odauda told newsmen at a press briefing after match that the loss would not affect the mentality or his team’s ability to bounce back in coming matches. He said it was a game that did not quite go their way and that the team played very hard, but the day was not just theirs.
The result leaves Nigeria in a do-or-die situation as they will need to beat Mali on Tuesday to keep their 2024 Olympic hopes alive, while it was a hard-fought win for Senegal.
The event holding at the Eko Hotel Convention Centre in Lagos has Cameroon, Tunisia, Guinea and Mali competing for the sole available ticket.
Head Coach of Senegal, Memadou Gueye, said he was very happy about the result, attributing the victory to the team’s strong mentality and determination to win.
“We are confident of getting good results in the coming matches, it’s a good start; we just have to keep the strong mentality and consistency,” Gueye said.