SAN FRANCISCO, November 26, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s national Basketball team, D’Tigers began their 2021 Afrobasket qualifiers with an easy 76-56 win over South Sudan at the Kigali Arena on Thursday.
Mike Brown’s men took the first quarter 22-17 as the North Africans went almost point-for-point with their more illustrious opponents. However, D’Tigers turned on their ruthlessness in the next quarter, taking it 24-12. They therefore went into the first half break with a 17-point lead, finishing the half 46-29.
South Sudan came into the third quarter with a fight back mindset and succeeded in reducing the deficit to 20-15. It was the turn of D’Tigers to show the gap in superiority in the final quarter which they did to take it 15-7 and win the match by a 20-point margin.
Caleb Agada, the Hapoel Be’er Sheva point guard, was the game’s top scorer with 16 points, taking two rebounds and making two blocks. He also scored four out of six attempted three points throws while making two out of four two point attempts.
D’Tigers’ most efficient player in the game was easily Ike Iroegbu, guard for the Capital City Go-Go. He scored 13 points, had seven rebounds, eight assists, and one steal.
For the opponents, power forward Nyang Wek led the scorers and was the most efficient player for South Sudan with 10 points and seven rebounds.
D’Tigers’ team captain, Ike Diogu, in his post-match press conference, said the win was important for the players’ confidence.
“It was very important to win our first game. This is the first time we’ve been together as a group. Practice time has been limited so this is actually our first time of action, it was good to get our feet wet.”
Mike Brown, head coach of the team, was more expressive, “For two no contact practices, they did a good job adapting to my style and I think they did very well. There are obviously things you can always clean up on. It is a good win for us.”
On Saturday, D’Tigers will face hosts, Rwanda, in their second game of the competition. Then, their final game of the qualifiers will be against Mali on Sunday.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
