Basketball: Nigeria’s Diogu wins NBA award

“For the month, Diogu averaged 21.4 points, shooting 59 per cent from the field, to go with 12.3 rebounds and 10 blocks.”

Ike Diogu, a member of the D’Tigers, the Nigerian male basketball team, has won the National Basketball Association, NBA, Development League Player of the month of March award.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Media Officer of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, Patrick Omorodion, in Abuja on Thursday.

According to the statement, Diogu led Bakersfield to a 10-3 record in March, including a 7-2 road record and a seven-game winning streak between March 12 and March 26.

“For the month, Diogu averaged 21.4 points, shooting 59 per cent from the field, to go with 12.3 rebounds and 10 blocks.

“He recorded a double-double in 12 of his 13 games in March, notching two 30-plus point outings.

“On March 19, he recorded a season-high 19 rebounds to go with 30 points in a 114-106 road win over the Texas Legends.

“The following week on March 30, he tied his season high with 32 points in a 115-109 win against the Santa Cruz Warriors,’’ the statement read.

It added that for the season, Diogu averaged 18.0 points on 55 per cent shooting, to go with 9.4 rebounds, which is good for sixth-best in the NBA D-League.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that Diogu has been an outstanding member of the D’Tigers, and played in the team’s debut at the Olympic Games in 2012 at London.

The NBA is the pre-eminent men’s professional basketball league in North America and is widely considered to be the premier men’s professional basketball league in the world.

(NAN)