D’Tigers Fall To Côte d’Ivoire, Misses Automatic Qualification Spot
Nigeria’s men’s national basketball team, D’Tigers, were beaten 77-68 by Côte d’Ivoire in their last Group C game at the FIBA Afrobasket championship, missing out on the automatic qualification spot for the quarterfinal in Kigali, Rwanda.
The group decider saw Nigeria struggling for most parts of the game, with 41.8% shooting accuracy from two-pointers and 29.6% shooting accuracy from the three-point line.
A very physical Ivorian team also dominated defensively as they outrebounded D’Tigers 44 to 30.
Benjamin Emelogu led the team in scoring with 13 points, two steals, and five rebounds. Uzodinma Utomi had 12 points, TK Edogi recorded 10 points, while Gombe Bulls’ Ibeabuchi Agu was solid defensively, helping with five rebounds, two steals, and five points.
Nigeria will play the third-placed team in Group D in their quest to secure a quarterfinal ticket. Coach Mike Brown said the team did not play harder and together like a team that wanted a win.
“We didn’t play hard or play together and that is a recipe for disaster against a good team,” Brown said. “You have to give Cote d’Ivoire credit. They were extremely physical and confident and they were together the entire game.”
“They played harder than us today. They played smarter than us today and they got the win. In my opinion, the best team won the game today. You have to give a lot of credit to Ivory Coast. They did a heck of a job.”
“It will be interesting to see how our guys respond after the loss. We still have an opportunity to go again and we will see how that turns out in the next game,” Brown added.
Chidi Nwoke/The Guardian.
