Senegal dominated Nigeria in all major categories of the game in the second half.
Nigeria’s run in the 2025 AfroBasket ended on Wednesday in Luanda when they lost to Senegal 91-75.
Nigeria became the second team to reach the quarterfinals undefeated — after Côte d’Ivoire — to see their AfroBasket title aspirations come to an abrupt end.
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Brancou Badio put on a show leading Senegal in scoring with 32 points.
An exhilarating opening quarter saw Senegal and Nigeria tirelessly trading blows, but Nigeria led 24-23 after seven lead changes.
Jean Jacques Boissy hit a three-pointer on Senegal’s first possession of the second quarter to give them a 26-24 lead.
Another three-pointer from Amar Sylla extended Senegal’s lead to 29–24, and Nigeria never led again.
Senegal maintained their momentum with a 13-5 run before Nigeria called a timeout to minimize the damage.
However, there wasn’t much they could do, as Senegal appeared to be relentlessly dominant.
Senegal led by as many as 24 points in the third quarter. Senegal will take on Mali in the Last Four. They had previously beaten Mali 80-70 in Group D.
Senegal’s team talk right after the opening quarter proved success as they punished Nigeria’s permissive defense with two straight three-pointers that ended Nigeria’s titles aspirations. Boissy and Sylla were Nigeria’s punishers.
From that moment onwards, this highly anticipated clash became a one-sided affair with Senegal putting their dominance at full display.
Brancou Badio was the hero for Cameroon as the Valencia guard came out with a recital of incredible plays.
He drove to the basket at will, shot from almost every corner of the floor, and eventually led all players in scoring with 32 points to grab the MVP plaque in the game .
Also Jean Jacques Boissy continues to establish himself as one of the most productive sixth men in African basketball.
Just a couple of months after leading Libya’s Al Ahly Tripoli to the 2025 BAL title and winning MVP honors as a substitute, Boissy was instrumental in Senegal’s 91-75 victory over Nigeria, finishing with 21 points off the bench. Boissy shot 5-for-10 from deep.
The Senegalese were the tallest team in the 2025 AfroBasket, and they used their height to their advantage, out-rebounding Nigeria 53-35.
However, it was Senegal’s 24-point lead in the third quarter that hindered Nigeria’s chances of progressing.
It’s not how you start that matters, but how you finish. This saying fits Senegal perfectly.
While Senegal reached the Last Eight with a 3-1 record, Nigeria advanced to the quarterfinals with a perfect 3-0 record. In the end, however, only Senegal remained in contention.
After a shaky start to the game, Senegal waited for the right moment to deliver the final blow, which didn’t take long; right after the first quarter, the game was over for Nigeria, despite their efforts to fight back.
With this victory, Senegal returns to the AfroBasket semifinals for the fifth time since the 2013 edition of the tournament in Abidjan.
As for the D’Tigers, they hit the end of the road after a fiery first three victories in the group and they continue the search for another success on the continent as their solitary success in 2015.
FIBA AfroBasket: D’Tigers’ Ike Nwamu Blames Loss to Senegal on ‘Flat Start’
Nigeria’s men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, saw their 2025 FIBA AfroBasket campaign come to a crashing halt after a 91-75 quarterfinal defeat to Senegal in Luanda.
Guard Ike Nwamu admitted the team failed to match Senegal’s energy from the onset, which ultimately cost them the game.
“It hurts. We had high hopes; we had a really good group, fun group, we all love each other, but it’s part of the game — one team has to win, another has to lose. It was not our day today.
They came out with more energy. We were kind of flat to start. They are a really good team; they got lots of high-level players. It was their night tonight,” Nwamu said.
Nigeria had advanced to the last eight with …
