It was a very close call for D’Tigers in their first game of the 2017 Afrobasket Championships in Tunisia, as they defeated Ivory Coast by 1 point in what was a very thrilling audacious encounter.
The Nigerian team, being the defending champions, thought the game against Ivory Coast would be a walkover, but it was not to be so as the francophone nation put up their best fight against Nigeria.
Into the break at half time, D’Tigers maintained a 42-33 lead, and almost secured their win with 13 points ahead the Ivorians, but they were quickly rocked in their boots when Ivory Coast bounced back in the quarter to level the scores.
Ivory Coast converted most of their outside shots, quickly reducing the deficit, while D’Tigers were unlucky with theirs.
At the end of the third quarter, the Ivorians had reduced the point difference to 3-points, helping them build much confidence into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, they took the lead for the first time in the game and were the favorites to win considering their clearly thought out tactical plan.
A technical foul saw Nigeria lose their footing as the Ivorians now held a good position, but captain Ike Diogu responded almost immediately with two back to back 3 points shot in between a 3 from Ivory Coast.
The odds tipped in the favor of the Ivorians again when Tiegbe Bamba converted his free throw and put them 1 point ahead of Nigeria with less than 20 seconds of play time.
However, D’Tigers snatched the win when Okaro Akakume, assisted by Ikenna Iroegbu, made a two pointer that shot Nigerian back into the lead in the nick of time.
Source:
makingofchamps.com
Featured Image Source: brila.net
It was a very close call for D’Tigers in their first game of the 2017 Afrobasket Championships in Tunisia, as they defeated Ivory Coast by 1 point in what was a very thrilling audacious encounter.
The Nigerian team, being the defending champions, thought the game against Ivory Coast would be a walkover, but it was not to be so as the francophone nation put up their best fight against Nigeria.
Into the break at half time, D’Tigers maintained a 42-33 lead, and almost secured their win with 13 points ahead the Ivorians, but they were quickly rocked in their boots when Ivory Coast bounced back in the quarter to level the scores.
Ivory Coast converted most of their outside shots, quickly reducing the deficit, while D’Tigers were unlucky with theirs.
At the end of the third quarter, the Ivorians had reduced the point difference to 3-points, helping them build much confidence into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, they took the lead for the first time in the game and were the favorites to win considering their clearly thought out tactical plan.
A technical foul saw Nigeria lose their footing as the Ivorians now held a good position, but captain Ike Diogu responded almost immediately with two back to back 3 points shot in between a 3 from Ivory Coast.
The odds tipped in the favor of the Ivorians again when Tiegbe Bamba converted his free throw and put them 1 point ahead of Nigeria with less than 20 seconds of play time.
However, D’Tigers snatched the win when Okaro Akakume assisted by Ikenna Iroegbu, made a two pointer that shot Nigerian back into the lead in the nick of time.
Source
makingofchamps.com
Featured Image Source: brila.net
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