Read more about Golden moments in Nigerian sports
Why is there a shift? The exploits of the Nigerian male and female basketball teams on the court has drawn so much attention to the game as Nigeria seeks a medal in the event in Tokyo. The build-up to the Olympics saw the Nigerian men’s national basketball team, D’Tigers, beat the US team by 90-87 points on Sunday, July 11th, 2021, making history as the first African team to beat the US basketball team. While critics wrote off the Nigerian team, the coach Mike Brown led side would go on to prove that their victory against the US was no fluke after beating the Argentine national team, 94-71, on Monday, July 12th, 2021.
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The five of Nnamdi Gabe Vincent, Precious Achiuwa, Ike Nwamu, Josh Okogie, and Chikezie Okpala, started the game for the African giants. After losing the first quarter by 19-17 points, D’Tigers got their groove in the second quarter and won with a 12 points gap as the trio of Jahlil Okafor, Precious Achiuwa, and Obi Emeghano produced a master class display defensively and offensively against the South Americans. Nigeria stretched their lead to 19 points by the end of the third quarter, before slowing things down and winning the fourth quarter by 20-16 points. Jahlil Okafor topped the scorers’ chart with 15 points, while the duo of Chimezie Metu and Josh Okogie, had 10 points each. D’Tigers’ win over the 4th ranked basketball nation in the world (Argentina), shocked critics and has placed high hopes on Mike Brown and his boys in Tokyo when the Olympics commence. Source Premium Times Featured Image Source: Vanguard News
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