D’Tigers head coach David Fizdale has expressed his satisfaction after Nigeria ended a difficult qualifying window on a high, defeating Cape Verde 100-84 to revive their hopes of reaching the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Nigeria entered Sunday’s final game of the window under pressure after consecutive defeats to Cameroon and South Sudan, but Fizdale’s side produced their most convincing performance of the round to move their qualifying record to 5-4 with three games still to play.
“We needed that win to stay in the fight and give ourselves a chance,” Fizdale said.
“I told the guys if we get to five wins we are within striking distance of qualifying in the next window.”
The American coach was particularly pleased with the way his players responded after the disappointing start to the window.
Nigeria had lost 78-62 to Cameroon before suffering a narrow 82-79 defeat to South Sudan, leaving D’Tigers with little room for another slip-up against Cape Verde.
This time, however, Nigeria came out firing.
D’Tigers raced into a 23-9 lead after the opening quarter and continued to control the contest, taking a 52-35 advantage into halftime. They extended the lead to 76-54 after three quarters before eventually closing out the game 100-84.
Fizdale was especially delighted to see his team finally find its shooting rhythm after struggling from distance in the opening two games.
“I was really happy finally we made threes because we just couldn’t make shots the first two games,” he said.
Caleb Agada produced a spectacular shooting performance, scoring 26 points after making eight of his 11 attempts from three-point range. He also contributed six assists in one of his most influential performances for Nigeria.
Josh Okogie was equally impressive, finishing with 15 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists and four steals, while Chimezie Metu controlled the boards with 12 rebounds. Ike Nwamu added 14 points and Efe Abogidi scored 11.
The victory was a welcome response after Nigeria had looked out of rhythm in their first two games.
Fizdale admitted that the team had started the qualifying window poorly, but believes the victory has given D’Tigers valuable breathing space before the final phase of the qualification campaign.
“It’s a huge relief to advance to the next phase,” he said, stressing that the additional time will allow the team to identify and correct the mistakes that contributed to their poor start.
The result leaves Nigeria firmly in the qualification race at 5-4, with three games remaining in the final qualifying window scheduled for February 2027.
The importance of the victory was not lost on the players either.
Okogie, who was part of Nigeria’s last World Cup team in 2019, admitted that the 1-2 record in the window was not what D’Tigers wanted, but insisted that the team remains within reach of qualification.
“Obviously 1-2 is not the result we wanted but at the end of the day we are not completely out of this; we are within striking distance,” Okogie said.
Nigeria will now have several months to prepare for the decisive final window, with the objective of turning Sunday’s momentum into qualification for the tournament in Qatar.
For Fizdale, the immediate priority is to use the break wisely.
After enduring two damaging defeats, D’Tigers finally produced the response they needed — and the 100-84 victory could prove to be the result that keeps Nigeria’s 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup dream alive.
