Nigeria’s senior male basketball team, D’Tigers thrashed their South Sudanese opponents in the first game of the Afrobasket Qualifiers currently going on in Kigali, the Rwandan capital.
D’Tigers, managed by American coach Mike Brown had a good collection of their dependable players on board for the encounter, which they won 76-56.
In the first quarter, the Nigerian team blew out of the blocks, led by skipper Ike Diogu. The quarter ended in a 22-17 lead for D’Tigers.
The team never looked back afterwards, as Caleb Agada scored 16 points off the bench, sinking four of his six attempts at the 3-point range. He also finished with a 60% field goal conversion rate.
Point guard, Ike Iroegbu scored 13 points in the game while Diogu, Keith Omoerah and Obi Emegano weighed in with 10 points each.
The Nigerian team, champions of Africa and one of the continent’s representatives for the Tokyo Olympics showed dominance against their East African opposition.
Coach Brown, an associate coach with the Golden State Warriors, was brought in to tinker the team to greatness, after a less eventful showing at the FIBA World Championship.
Nigeria will face hosts Rwanda next on the 28th of November.
Twenty teams divided into five groups of four are competing in the tournament.
The top three teams from each group will automatically qualify for the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 to be held in Rwanda.
