D'Tigers will cause a stir in London

Just like most of his colleagues in the present squad of D’Tigers, before the London 2012 Olympics qualifiers in Venezuela, Ade Dagunduro was not that popular among Nigerian basketball followers.

But the 6 foot 5 powerful basketball prodigy and his team mates took everybody by surprise by picking one of the tickets to represent Africa at the London Games. On their way to achieving this historic feat, D’Tigers defeated European power houses like Greece and Lithuania.

Dagunro was at his best at Nebraska where he played in the 2008-09 season

Now, Dagunduro has a bigger honor to celebrate — being an Olympian.

“I’m still having trouble believing it,” Dagunduro said by phone from Los Angeles, where he visited family before departing Monday for London.

“Nobody gave us a chance. It’s been an amazing experience already. I can only imagine what it will be like when we get to London.” “We want to try to cause a stir like we did in Venezuela.”

The Nigerian team — mostly Americans of Nigerian descent — is hardly a group of nobodies.

Forward Al-Farouq Aminu out of Wake Forest plays for the New Orleans Hornets. Center Ike Diogu played three years in the NBA after leaving Arizona State. Point guard Tony Skinn led George Mason to its unlikely run to the Final Four in 2006.

Dagunduro, since his time at Nebraska, has played professionally for three years — one in Germany and two in Belgium.

The Nigerian spent just 2 weeks together before heading to Venezuela.

“When we started, even in friendly matches, man, we were terrible,” Dagunduro said. “We were out of sync and you could tell the chemistry wasn’t there.

“But game by game, you could see it coming together. It might be scary if we can keep this thing going.”

The Nigerians started the tourney one down but picked up pieces in the second match and then faced heavily favored Greece in an elimination game.

Dagunduro scored seven of his 14 points in the final 1:10, including the deciding free throws with three seconds left, in an 80-79 victory. Some overseas basketball websites are calling it the biggest upset in European basketball in 25 years and the biggest win in African international play ever.

“It was a surreal experience for me,” Dagunduro said. “I got calls from all over the place after that. That was awesome.”

His contributions against Greece weren’t just on offense. He also blocked the potential game-winning shot at the buzzer — something that would have pleased his old Husker coach Doc Sadler, who preached defense.

“I’m sure Doc was smiling about that block moreso than the seven points,” Dagunduro said, laughing.

Nigeria clinched its Olympics spot by winning the third-place game against the Dominican Republic 88-73. Dagunduro had nine points and five assists.

That win marked the first time that a Nigerian team sport ever earned an Olympic bid.

“Soccer is our powerhouse, but has not made the Olympics,” Dagunduro said. “We’ll have individuals in things like track and field and boxing, but we will be the first team.

“It’s a blessing to be one of the 12 people to represent the 200 million people with Nigerian blood around the world. It’s beyond an honor.”

Nigeria starts play in the 12-team Olympic tourney Sunday against Tunisia, another first-time qualifier. Other teams in that bracket are the United States, France, Argentina and Lithuania.

Dagunduro, who recently signed another one-year deal to play in Belgium, said he plans to enjoy his first trip to London.

“But I don’t want to say we’re just happy to be there,” he said. “We want to try to cause a stir like we did in Venezuela.”