By Osaro Matthew
The Nigeria male basketball team, DTigers, again suffered another defeat as they lost to Uganda at the FIBA Afrobasket qualifiers currently ongoing in Tunisia making it two consecutive losses, platinumnewsng.com is reporting.
Uganda defeated Nigeria 72 – 62 in the highly contested match. The defeat came after Libya also defeated Nigeria 89 – 82. Once again, Nigeria’s D’Tigers found themselves trailing early on, with Uganda seizing a 12-7 lead by the close of the initial quarter. Maintaining their ascendancy, Uganda outscored Nigeria 17-12 in the second quarter, solidifying a 10-point advantage as the teams headed into halftime.
The third quarter witnessed a fiercely competitive exchange, yet Uganda managed to edge out Nigeria with a 26-25 score, widening their lead to 11 points. Despite a spirited effort from D’Tigers in the final quarter, where they narrowly outscored Uganda 18-17, the early deficit proved insurmountable. Ultimately, Uganda clinched the victory with a decisive ten-point margin, showcasing their dominance once again.
The qualifiers which are ongoing in Tunisia and Egypt, have countries like Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Cape Verde, Angola, Kenya and Guinea contesting to qualify.
Libya’s win against the DTigers on Friday, February 23, came as a shock as they led in all four quarters of the game. D’Tigers returned to the court again against Uganda but tasted another defeat.
While some have blamed the poor performance of the team on late arrival and lack of preparation, the team will be hoping to bounce back as their qualification hangs in the balance.
Jokanola Bolaji
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