Udoka wants World Championship action with D’Tigress

By Ifeanyi Ibeh

September 6, 2009

Mfon Udoka is looking forward to playing once again at the world championship for the national women's basketball team, D'Tigress. And she hopes to be in action for Nigeria in October when the 21st FIBA Africa Basketball Championship comes up in the island nation of Madagascar; even though she hasn't played professionally for over a year.

The American born Udoka led D'Tigress to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, where she emerged first in the tournament in rebounding and second in scoring despite Nigeria's 11th placing in the 12-team tournament.

The former player of the Los Angeles Sparks and Houston Comets, both of the American Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), also led D'Tigress to the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women in Brazil and both tournaments to date, remain the biggest events to be attended by D'Tigress who will be aiming to make it to next year's World Championship coming up in the Czech Republic.

And Udoka will love to play a part in making it a reality.

Preparations

"Playing at the world championship will be great but I have very mixed emotions about playing for the national team," said Udoka on the line to NEXTSports. "I don't just want to walk away and quit on the many people who have counted on me, especially my coaches and teammates. But as of now, I don't see proper preparations because we should have been in camp before now." Udoka, whose brother Ime remains on the lookout for a new NBA team, after playing last season for the San Antonio Spurs, hasn't played professional basketball since leaving the French side Tarbes Gespe Bigorre in 2007 but still gets to work out regularly in company with her brother to keep in shape.

"I do workout five to six times every week, sometimes with Ime," she continued. "He would have loved to be in Libya (at the last African Basketball Championships) but because he is still an unsigned free agent, he couldn't join the team because a couple of teams are interested in signing him.

"But I am available and ready to play if the coaches need me. But we should have been in camp much earlier than now.

"I don't expect to get the adequate practice time but I do want to play for the national team and I hope they make it to the African Championship, and that is where we have to get our act together as there won't be room for errors. One mistake and we could be out of it," she stressed.

Qualifiers

Nigeria, however have to first qualify for the African Championship and that opportunity is expected to come the team's way when the country hosts the qualifying tournament for Zone III, comprising of Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Benin Republic, Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger Republic, Liberia and Nigeria, later this month in Lagos.

The team consisting of Nigeria- based players, although hurriedly assembled by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), is currently training in Lagos, under the guidance of coach Ayo Bakare who informed NEXTSports of the NBBF's intentions to call upon the services of overseas- based players, even though he refused to divulge any information with regards to the specific players the federation intends to call up to D'Tigress.

"I don't mind having a look at her (Udoka) and I am happy she wants to play for the team but we have to wait until the federation releases the list of overseasbased players," said Bakare in an interview with NEXTSports.

"I can't say who and who is in the federation's plans but one has to consider the availability of funds because if at the end of the day there isn't enough money to bring these players to Nigeria then we will just have to depend on the local players," he added.