Nigeria’s senior men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, has unveiled a 12-man roster for the first window of the African qualifiers for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup, with the team set to open its campaign in Tunis on Thursday.
Head coach Abdulrahman Mohammed confirmed the squad ahead of the team’s departure, with Nigeria beginning its Group C journey against hosts Tunisia. The group also features Rwanda and Guinea, whom D’Tigers will face on November 29 and 30, respectively.
Former Afrobasket captain Ike Nwamu leads the lineup as one of the team’s most seasoned figures, marking a significant return to the national fold. He is joined by guards Stan Okoye and Mike Nuga, while shot-blocking specialist Christopher Obekpa anchors the frontcourt.
Reflecting a deliberate shift toward blending international experience with domestic talent, Coach Mohammed named three home-based players, saying the mix was designed to inject both hunger and balance into the squad.
The full roster includes Olisa Akonobi, Paul Dibal, Chingka Garba, Morris Udeze, Mike Nuga, Ike Nwamu, Christopher Obekpa, Jordan Ogundiran, Augustine Okafor, Stan Okoye, Ugo Simon and Talib Zanna.
According to the Nigeria Basketball Federation, the team is “locked and loaded” for the opening window, with growing anticipation around the country’s renewed World Cup ambitions. The federation noted that the qualifiers present a vital opportunity for Nigeria to re-establish its continental dominance after a series of inconsistent performances.
The African qualifying series will run from November 2025 through March 2027, featuring the 16 teams that participated in Afrobasket 2025. Teams are split into four groups of four, playing a double round-robin format. The top three in each group will advance to the second round.
Ranked eighth in Africa by FIBA, Nigeria faces a demanding qualification route with only five slots available for the World Cup. In the second phase, the 12 remaining teams will be regrouped into two pools of six, with first-round results carried over. Each team will play six additional games, and only the top two in each group—plus the best-performing third-placed team—will secure their ticket to Doha.
As D’Tigers begin their campaign in Tunis, their target is clear: establish a strong early footing in what will be a long, high-intensity road to basketball’s biggest global stage. The team last reached the World Cup finals in 2019, failed to advance beyond the first round, and missed out entirely on the 2023 edition held in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.