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Basketball of Saturday, 29 May 2021

Source: www.premiumtimesng.com

D’Tigers beat Puerto Rico in first pre-Olympic games friendly

Nigeria’s senior national men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, on Friday in Kortrijk, Belgium, defeated Puerto Rico 89-63 points in the first of their three pre-Olympics friendly matches.

The friendly match, played at the Lange Munte arena, was lined up by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) to prepare the team ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

The team arrived in Belgium from Las Vegas in the U.S. earlier in the week and showed their intention early in the game as they raced to a 13-9 lead in the first quarter.

They dominated all through 17-13, 31-16, 24-19, 17-15 to start their friendly match series on a winning note.

Amy Okonkwo, who recently had a training camp stint with Dallas Wings, contributed 14 points and six rebounds, with a 50 percent field goal percentage.

Fifteen minutes was all 23-year-old Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpannah needed as she dropped 14 points and three rebounds on an evening when she made five out of seven attempted shots.

Adaora Elonu dropped 14 points and 2 steals as the team closed out the game in an emphatic fashion.

With all the players in camp, except Victoria Macaulay, who watched from the bench, all getting good playing time, it was a dominant performance for D’Tigers.

All the players got at least two points. Atonye Nyingifa had 10 points, three rebounds, and two assists, while Promise Amukamara scored eight points and five steals.