By Olalekan Okusan
’Tigress’ Point guard Ezinne Kalu has been listed among the five players who could make a significant impact at the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament holding in Belgrade from February 6 to 9.
According to FIBA, the 27-year-old is an integral member of the Nigeria’s national women team whose contribution to the team’s back-to-back Afrobasket title in 2017 and 2019 cannot be underestimated.
“The guard has really come of age during the last couple of years and has risen to prominence at the same time as Nigeria have finally got things together in general. That combination has delivered FIBA Women’s Afrobasket titles and a positive showing at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2018.
“Last year, Kalu hit a new peak when she deservedly walked away with the MVP award having led Nigeria to gold in Dakar. Her 13 points, 3.2 assists, 3.0 steals and 2.6 boards per game underlined how fundamentally important she is to this Nigeria team.
“A similarly productive effort followed in the FIBA Women’s Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament and the question is whether Kalu can maintain that momentum and form. The signs are good after an impressive run in the French League with Landerneau Bretagne Basket, which seems to have further sharpened her game in all areas,” FIBA stated.
Also, other players expected to dazzle at the qualifiers include American duo of Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird, Mozambique’s Leia Dongue and Serbia’s Sonja Vasic.
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