Nigeria’s senior men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, took a big step towards qualifying for the 2027 FIBA World Cup, after beating Guinea 80-79 in a thrilling African Qualifiers clash in Luanda, Angola.
Under new head coach, David Fizdale, Nigeria took the first quarter 23-21, before Tunisia levelled matters with a 23-20 second-quarter response.
However, D’Tigers regained control after the break, winning the third quarter 21-19 and holding their nerve in the final period, 20-18, to complete a three-point win.
Fizdale, a two-time NBA champion and former Miami Heat assistant coach who was appointed in May to revive Nigeria’s qualifying campaign, praised his players’ resilience after the Tunisia win.
D’Tigers now join Guinea among the teams through to the second round, with their final Group C fixture against Rwanda coming up on Sunday, July 5th.
The top three teams from each of the four first-round groups advance to the second round, which will be played between August 2026 and February 2027.
The twelve qualifying teams will then be split into two groups of six, carrying over their first-round results, with the top two teams from each group and the best third-placed team securing places at the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Qatar.
