August 27, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s senior men’s national basketball team, D’Tigers maintained their perfect start to the ongoing 2021 FIBA Afrobasket competition in Kigali, Rwanda when they finished off the Morans of Kenya 71-55 in Friday’s second round match in Group C.
As THEWILL reported, D’Tigers started off on a solid footing when they defeated Mali 81-73 on Wednesday. They rode on the confidence of that victory to completely rout the Kenyans and consolidate their leadership of the group standings.
In Friday’s encounter, D’Tigers coach Mike Brown gave Ike Ndugba, Ben Emegolu, Daniel Utomi, Stephen Domingo and Emmanuel Omogbo a starting berth in the second round encounter. They combined well see Nigeria immediately open a gap at the onset.
At the end of the first quarter, D’Tigers showed their overall quality of play, recoveries and turnovers in a 20-8 score. The 12-point margin was to underline the sheer dominance of the West African squad over their East African opponents. On the sidelines, Brown kept dishing out instructions and his charges continued to deliver.
In the second quarter, the Kenyans began to grow into the game and find some of the rhythm that had bailed on them with the second-rate game they managed in the first. Coach Liz Mills, the only female coach at the 2021 AfroBasket competition, rallied her charges to cut the deficit and, to their credit, they did a lot to make it happen so that the quarter finished 34-26.
Nigeria’s 12-point advantage had been reduced to just eight going into the second half of the match. When play resumed, there was a more balanced game. Both sides took their chances when it came and minimised risks so that Nigeria extended their eight point lead to 10 and finished the third quarter 49-39 in front.
In a reverse of how D’Tigers played in Tokyo at the Olympics, Brown’s charges stepped up their advance in the final quarter. Although, it did not appear as if the Kenyans tired, but D’Tigers added 22 points to their tally compared to the 16 that the Morans added in that final quarter.
It meant that Nigeria finished stronger to take the match with a final score of 71-55 and cement their leadership of the Group with one more group fixture remaining. That will be a Sunday, August 29 match against Les Éléphants of Cote d’Ivoire.
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.
