By Joe Apu
Despite Nigeria being drawn in the group of death for the Tokyo 2020 basketball event for women, D’Tigress point-guard, Ezinne Kalu believes the team can go all the way to win a medal.
According to the Nigeria Basketball Federation media department in a chat with Kalu from her base in France, the 2019 FIBA AfroBasket Most Valuable Player said with the right personnel and positive attitude from her teammates, a podium finish in Tokyo is possible.
Still smarting from the 10 days intensive training camp in Atlanta, she revealed that expectations are high for the number one team in Africa.
“What do I expect from the girls? They need to show up, come to the training camp locked in, be focused, give 100 percent and really buy in because the Olympics is a huge platform and I feel like we can really do something special”, Ezinne said.
She acknowledged that getting a medal amongst the top 12 teams in the world will not come easy, hence the need to put in the works.
“For us to do something special, we have to do the work. We have to do the necessary things to really succeed just like how we do for the world cup and AfroBasket”.
“Every camp that we have, we know that this is the time for us to get serious, this is time for us to really put the work in. I don’t expect anything less from my girls”, the Landerneau of France player said.
Known for her high work rate on the court, in 2020, she was voted Guard of the Year France (1st Division), 1st Team All-Imports France League, 1st Team All-French Player as well as a member of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament All-Star starting 5 in Serbia.
