FIBA Afrobasket 2021: D'Tigers begin qualifiers with victory

The D’Tigers commenced their 2021 FIBA Afrobasket Qualifiers campaign with a win over their first opponents, South Sudan at the Kigali Arena on Thursday morning.

The Nigeria men’s basketball team defeated their counterparts 76-56 in a 20 point game at the end of the fourth quarter.

Mike Brown who made his debut as D’Tigers coach on Thursday picked a starting five which included: Ike Diogu, Ike Ireogbu, Obi Emegano, Micheal Gbinije and Keith Omoerah.

Overall it was a slow start for the Nigerian team but they soon got into their groove opening a 17 point lead over South Sudan at half time.

D’Tigers however saw this lead cut short to 12 points by a rejuvenated South Sudanese team in Q3 and further cut down to 8 points midway into Q4 before the 2015 Afrobasket Champions picked up the pace again.

Top performers for D’Tigers on the day were Ireogbu who finished the game with 13 points, 7 rebounds, a game high 8 assists and 1 steal; Caleb Agada had a game high 16 points; while the likes of Diogu (11points), Omoerah (10points) and Emegano (10points) all finished with double digit points. 

Next up for D’Tigers are the hosts, Rwanda on Saturday evening in what promises to be an exciting encounter at the Kigali Arena.