Nigeria’s men’s senior basketball national team, D’Tigers have quickly turned their attention towards getting a reival of status with victory against South Sudan on Friday, following their loss to Cameroon on Thursday at the ongoing FIBA World Cup African Qualifiers second round.
Sports247 gathered that victory against South Sudan is imperative for David Fizdale’s squad, as they fell to a 78–62 defeat versus Cameroon in their opening Group E match at Salle Multidisciplinaire de Radès in Tunisia, where the Nigerian team struggled with their offense.
Read Also: FIBA World Cup Qualifiers: D’Tigers Must Translate Their Quality Into Results – Olopade | Sports247 Nigeria
With D’Tigers shooting a poor 7-of-34 from the three-point line, Cameroon controlled the pace, as they led 23-14 after the first quarter and stretched it to 60-48 by the end of the third, then went on to seal a huge 16-point victory at the start of the highly competitive window.
The loss puts additional pressure on Fizdale and his star-studded 12-man roster that features NBA guard, Josh Okogie as well as veterans Chimezie Metu and Chima Moneke among others, as they now face an uphill threat this Friday from South Sudan’s ‘Bright Stars.’
South Sudan currently top the continent’s FIBA rankings and stand strong at 25th globally, while D’Tigers recently slipped to 8th in Africa and 53rd in the world, though the Nigerian team has a 100% winning record against their next opponents across their previous clashes.
Therefore, history and current form will be at stake on Friday, as both sides step out for the hugely anticipated, high-stakes game, which D’Tigers will aim to win and regain confidence ahead of their last fixture of the series – against Cape Verde on Sunday – with all their games starting at 1pm Nigeria time.
