D’Tigers of Nigeria revived its 2027 FIBA World Cup hopes after a crucial 75-69 victory against of Rwanda in their African Qualifier First Round Playoff encounter in Rades, Tunisia.
Nigeria began sluggishly, losing the first quarter 12-21. They however bounced back to take the second and third quarters 13-6 and 20-9, respectively.
Rwanda won the fourth quarter by as much as nine points (16-25), after it seemed Nigeria had taken its feet off the pedal. The game then went into Overtime after scores stood at 61-61 at the end of the fourth quarter.
Coach Abdulrahman Mohamed and his men dug deep to record 14 points in the Overtime, against the five (5) points recorded by Rwanda to secure the win.
After the two losses for D’Tigers in the first two games, the victory was crucial in the bid to qualify for the 2027 FIBA World Cup.
With this win, Nigeria can still qualify for the FIBA World Cup depending on how D’Tigers perform in their 3rd, 4th and 5th windows of the Qualifiers, starting from June 2026.
