July 03, (THEWILL) – In their Sunday 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifying game at the ultramodern Kigali Arena in Rwanda, Nigeria’s senior men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, defeated Uganda 91-72.
D’Tigers were well-rested for the game against Uganda after being awarded a 20-0 walkover against Mali, who failed to show up for the tournament, on Saturday, July 2. That same Saturday, in the other match of the group qualifying series, Uganda lost 87–78 to Cape Verde. It was an opportunity for D’Tigers to get back on track after falling to Cape Verde 79-70 in game 4 of the campaign.
D’Tigers demonstrated this from the start and won the first quarter, 20-13, by a seven point margin. They bettered this in the second quarter, finishing it 29-18. At the halfway stage, the Nigerian team led by 18 points. Uganda stepped up their performance that the third quarter finished 24-24 to keep the score unchanged going into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was another close score but D’Tigers did enough to inch ahead ever so slightly and closed the fourth quarter 18-17 to win by a margin of 19 points in all. Chimezie Metu of the Sacramento Kings was the team’s star, leading them to win with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
D’Tigers have four wins and two loses at the completion of the first qualification round. They now advance to the second round of the qualification campaign, and NBA talents like Jordan Nwora of Milwaukee and Precious Achiuwa of Toronto are anticipated to rejoin the squad.
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.
