The Nigerian national men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, boosted their chances of qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after defeating South Korea in their third match at the ongoing FIBA World Cup in China.
The game ended with 108-66 points and saw Nigeria side record their first win at the global showpiece. With this win, D’Tigers have given themselves the chance to gain an automatic qualification slot for Tokyo 2020 if they finish the World Cup as Africa’s best team in China.
In what was D’Tigers’ last group game, the Nigerian side started slow as their Asian opponents took a 5-0 lead within the first three minutes of the encounter, before the Africans awakened to catch up and finish the first quarter with 15-17.
Team captain, Ike Diogu, went further to gift Nigeria an extended lead with 15 points. All players in the Nigerian team made a point in the match to emerge victorious. Nigeria’s Michael Eric shone to lead the scoring chart with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Coach Alex Nwora was full of praises for his boys after the game.
On the court, our tactics worked out well and I must commend my players for a job well done.
Alex Nwora
D’Tigers will now face Cote d’Ivoire on Friday, 6th September 2019 at the City Arena in Guangzhou, China in what will be their opening match for the classification round at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. They will also confront China on Sunday, 8th September 2019 in the same venue.
Sources:
Premium Times NG
Completesports
Saharareporters
Featured Image Source: Premium Times NG
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