The Nigerian senior men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, have reached the quarterfinals of the 2017 FIBA Men’s AfroBasket Championship in Tunisia despite83-77 loss to DR Congo. The game against the Congolese, played on Sunday, was the Nigerian men’s third game and their first defeat in the tournament.
Nigeria began the game with a 20-19 point’s first quarter lead and also led the second quarter with 17-15 points to end the first half with 37-34 points lead.
Read also: D’Tigers grab second win in Tunisia
But in the second half, the Congolese stepped up their game to ensure they tied the third quarter with 18-18 points. They went on to mount serious pressure on the Nigerians who eventually lost the game with 83-77.
Having won their first two games – against Cote d’Ivoire and Mali – Nigeria still qualified for the quarter-finals with five points. Nigeria will play Cameroun for a place in the semi-final.
In other quarter final pairings, Tunisia will face Democratic Republic of Congo, while Senegal will locks horns with Angola, Egypt will battle Morocco in an all North African affair.
If the D’Tigres scaled the Cameroonian hurdle they will play the winner of Senegal vs Angola tie in the semi-finals.
