Nigeria’s senior men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, suffered a shock 70-67 defeat against Angola in their last Group E tie at the ongoing FIBA Basketball World Cup African qualifiers, at the Palais des Sports de Treichville in Abidjan on Sunday.
D’Tigers started off with a 78-66 loss to the Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire on Friday night, and then bounced back with an 80-79 victory against Guinea on Saturday to keep its qualification hopes alive.
However, Nigeria didn’t start well against Angola as they lost the first quarter 18-16. There was an improved display from the D’Tigers in the second quarter as they won 13-9 to head into halftime with a 29-27 lead.
In the third quarter, D’Tigers fell apart as Angola won 23-16. Though D’Tigers won the fourth quarter 22-20, it wasn’t enough to save them from defeat as Angola narrowly finished with a 70-67 victory.
With Sunday’s defeat, D’Tigers remain at the bottom of the Group E standings as their quest for qualification to next year’s World Cup looks more difficult.
D’Tigers will seek to qualify in the last window in February 2023 when they will try to pick the last African ticket to the World Cup.
The FIBA World Cup is scheduled to take place from August 25th – September 10th in Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
🇦🇴 Angola finishes Window 4 clean 👌 as they defeat Nigeria for a 3-0 record!#FIBAWC | #WinForAngola
📺 Watch live games & extended highlights on Courtside1891: https://t.co/4Q4fptEy1E pic.twitter.com/drPoIbcMuz
— FIBA Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWC) August 28, 2022
