Nigeria’s D’Tigers fell short of a semifinal berth at the ongoing Afrobasket Championship in Luanda, Angola, after suffering a 91-75 defeat to Senegal on Wednesday.
The result came barely a month after Nigeria’s women, D’Tigresses, had beaten Senegal in the Afrobasket final — a loss the Senegalese men avenged in emphatic fashion.
The game opened evenly, with both sides trading baskets. D’Tigers edged the first quarter 24-23, but Senegal roared back in the second with a blistering 30-18 run to establish a 53-42 halftime lead.
The momentum stayed with the Senegalese in the third quarter, which they dominated 23-13. Although Nigeria rallied to win the final quarter 20-15, it proved insufficient to close the gap as Senegal sealed victory by 16 points.
The win also narrowed Nigeria’s head-to-head advantage over Senegal to 5-4.
NBA star Josh Okogie, who had been D’Tigers’ standout performer in the group stages with 33 points in a single game, was effectively shut down. He managed just four points on the night.
Senegal’s Brancou Badio emerged as the standout performer, pouring in 32 points with a 29 percent efficiency rate to lead his team into the semifinals.
